Neurosurgery

Your nervous system is made up of two parts:

• The central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord)
• The peripheral nervous system (those parts outside the brain and spine)

It is an extremely complex system, responsible for transmitting electrical signals (impulses) around the body to generate a specific response. If anything prevents your nervous system working properly, it can cause certain symptoms, including:

• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Sciatica
• Arm pain
• Weakness
• Loss of sensation

A Consultant Neurosurgeon is responsible for the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions affecting the nervous system. People may need to see a neurosurgeon for help with:

• Slipped disc
• Spinal trauma
• Brain or spinal tumour
• Nerve compression
• Spinal deformity

At The Shirley Oaks Hospital in Surrey, we can arrange a private appointment for you with an experienced neurosurgeons without delay, so that you can benefit from any treatment needed at an earlier date.

If you would like to arrange your visit, why not get in touch with our friendly team today? They would be delighted to help you.

Conditions caused by spinal degeneration can case many problems, particularly when changes in the shape of the spine cause pinching or compression on the spinal cord or nerves.

Given the complexity of the spine, spinal surgery is usually classed as high risk, only used when other treatments have not been successful in managing symptoms.

It is important to know that many people will not need spinal surgery, as their symptoms can be effectively managed with non-surgical (conservative) treatments. These may include pain optimisation and physiotherapy (offered on-site by our experienced physiotherapy team).

Some conditions, such as a slipped disc, will sometimes get better on their own over time. Often, the only treatment needed will be suitable pain management, particularly in the earlier stages when pain is often more severe or limiting.

Spinal injections may be helpful, given either for diagnostic reasons (to confirm the precise source of your pain) or for therapeutic reasons (to reduce inflammation and pain). These injections are often given using X-ray guidance and can be very effective in managing pain and other symptoms.

If these treatments don’t relieve your symptoms, or provide only temporary relief, surgery may be an option.

The type of surgery you have will depend on your specific condition. Options include:

• Discectomy (removing damaged discs from your spinal column)
• Disc replacement
• Craniotomy (for removal of a brain tumour or blood clot on the brain, or for repair of leaking blood vessels)
• Lumbar decompression (to treat compressed nerves in your spine)
• Spinal fusion (fusing of the spine for stability)

Our highly experienced neurosurgeons are often able to use keyhole (minimally invasive) surgery. Key benefits of keyhole surgery include reduced blood loss, tissue damage and post-operative pain, less visible scarring, and a faster recovery.

When you visit us for your initial consultation, your consultant will take a medical history and will ask you in detail about your symptoms. They will want to know things like: 

• What are your symptoms?
• When did they start?
• Have they been getting worse over time?
• Have you already received any type of treatment?
• Do you have any underlying medical conditions?

During your consultation, they may carry out a neurological examination to help assess your motor responses and reflexes.

Diagnostic imaging will often be needed to help with diagnosis, and this can be easily arranged for you on-site. Our extensive imaging capabilities include X-ray, CT, MRI, and ultrasound, and our consultant radiologists ensure any results are back with your consultant as soon as possible.

Once the results from any scans are back, your consultant will discuss suitable treatment options with you. if it is determined that surgery would be helpful, they will explain how it will be done, the benefits you should expect to see, and what your recovery will be like. They will also talk to you about the risks of the surgery and possible complications you should be aware of. You will always be given the information you need to make an informed choice about any treatment.

Of course, should you have any questions or concerns about the diagnosis or treatment plan, your consultant will be very happy to discuss these with you during your private consultation. 

Many of our patients are referred to us from a GP or physiotherapist for further investigation.  Other are referred by a consultant in another medical speciality, like hip or shoulder surgery, rheumatology, or neurology. You can also self-refer to us to avoid delay in being seen and treated (particularly helpful when waiting times elsewhere can be extremely long).

When you choose to have private Neurosurgery at The Shirley Oaks Hospital, you will benefit from:

• Fast assessment – When you need expert help, you won’t want to be waiting weeks (or months) to see somebody or assessment and treatment advice. We can arrange a private Neurosurgery consultation for you quickly, so that you can get expert guidance and any treatment required at an earlier date.
• Convenient appointments – Private appointments are available throughout the week. While most of our patients prefer to visit the hospital in person, we can offer remote consultations by telephone or video call if required (and where clinically appropriate).
• Personalised Care – With the extensive nature of the nervous system, any part of the body may be affected by a problem. This means that treatment needs to be tailored to the individual, to provide the very best care for the specific condition. Your consultant will oversee every step of your care, from your very first visit through to post-surgery follow-up. Treatment is always consultant-led, and you will never have to worry about being treated by a more junior doctor.
• Access to a wider team – Our teams at The Shirley Oaks Hospital work closely with one another to ensure you always receive the best care. Working closely with colleagues in Orthopaedics and Neurology, your consultant also has fast and easy access to a much wider healthcare team when required, including radiographers, nurses, physiotherapists, and radiologists. This ensures you will always see the most appropriate person for your needs each time you visit us.
• Patient Satisfaction – In an independent survey, 97.7% of patients said they were likely or highly likely to recommend The Shirley Oaks Hospital to friends and family. We continue to focus our efforts each day on delivering the highest standards of care to all our patients. We look forward to serving you when you visit with us.
• Location – We are very easy to travel to! The Shirley Oaks Hospital is located on the outskirts of Croydon, within easy reach of all major road and rail networks. Our car park is free for patients and visitors, taking away the pressure of finding where to park.

If you are worried or concerned about any symptoms, why not book a private consultation today to get clarity about the best way forward? We look forward to welcoming you to The Shirley Oaks Hospital and helping you to get the support you need as soon as possible.