Neurosurgeons

• Neurosurgeons may be able to provide dramatic relief if you need surgery on your back or neck.
• If you don't need surgery, you may receive no help at all.
While an orthopedic surgeon is usually willing to treat people with arthritis whether or not they require surgery, a neurosurgeon is strictly a surgeon who operates on the brain, the spinal cord, and the other nerves. If your problem requires their special expertise, you're likely to get relief. But if not, don't expect other help to be forthcoming. This situation accounts for the very high percent¬age of neurosurgeons rated as ineffective in the survey.

The neurosurgeon operated on my neck,' wrote a retired public relations man from Ohio, 'because of bone spurs pinching a nerve and causing paralysis in my right arm. Now I can use the arm again, I can move my neck freely, which I couldn't do before, and I've had a major reduction in pain.'

An insurance agent from Louisiana consulted a neurosurgeon about the osteoarthritis in her spine, but, she said, 'He candidly tells me at this time there is no surgery that would help. He evaluates me every year or so in the event there has been a change in surgical options for me.' Meanwhile, she got her ongoing care from a rheumatologist who answered all her ques¬tions, prescribes drugs, and gave exercise advice.

If you have pain in your neck or back that hasn't responded to anyone else's care, consider discussing the problem with a neuro¬surgeon. If your doctor can't make such a referral, or you don't want to ask for one, check with your county medical society or with the hospitals in your area.