Hi I am Dr. John Shim and today I want to talk about why you need to see a neurologist.
As a spinal specialist, and with my surgical experience, I am often asked to evaluate people
and to make determinations for surgery.
Most of the time, the answer is you may not need surgery at this time.
To me, that should be a great relief for most folks.
As an orthopedic spine surgeon and specialist, surgery is usually necessary when there is
a significant risk for your life, or an important bodily function.
Thank goodness, those situations are rare.
In fact, if you have time to watch this video, I hope it is because while you have pain,
you are not experiencing such a life or bodily functioning threatening issue.
If you are... STOP watching this video and go to an emergency room, and contact your
physician right away.
Let's get back to the discussion about why you may need to see a neurologist.
Spine surgery can be helpful for others with more chronic conditions, as long as all the
options have been explored, and other potential causes of your complaints are investigated.
Spine specialists often will come to a conclusion that surgery may not be beneficial for a certain
person.
The patterns of pain, numbness, or intermittent weakness may not be totally consistent with
a spine source.
A spine specialist may refer you to a neurologist, who is a type of physician expert in diagnosing conditions
that may mimic a surgical problem.
To give an example, people with diabetes may have numbness, tingling, and pain to the arms
and legs.
For diabetics, the reason may be their high blood sugar levels have now caused changes
to the nerves throughout the body.
These nerve changes can cause similar symptoms, but not exactly the same symptoms as those
who have significant pinched nerves to their spine.
A neurologist, with different tools like nerve conduction studies, further diagnostic testing
of the brain, the spinal cord, and physical exam testing can determine if the complaints
are related to something else, such as diabetes.
The neurologist will also use their expertise of physical examination to explore the possibilities
of other entities causing your spine conditions.
While going to a neurologist may seem intimidating, in reality, finding your diagnosis is very
important, while also exploring the possibility of surgical management.
Frankly speaking, unfortunately I have seen patients who had complaints that did not completely
match a spine source of pain or nerve findings who did not follow my advice to obtain further
evaluation or examination by a nonsurgical specialist like a neurologist.
Unfortunately, due to desperation of pain, they pursued other surgical options instead
and had surgery.
I can tell you that surgical treatments for conditions that will not improve with surgical
management is a really bad outcome.
When a surgeon recommends further workup by a nonsurgical specialist, I strongly recommend
patients to follow through with that evaluation.
I know many of your frustrated with the pain, and the chronicity of the condition.
I understand, you will always be able to find a surgeon who will take the risk of doing
surgery for you.
Without a limp or life-threatening condition, it may be more prudent to pursue further evaluations
before making a surgical decision.
I'm Dr. John Shim.
As I always say, I am not try to tell you what to do.
At the same time, as an orthopedic spinal specialist, and my experience of thousands
of operations, I urge you to listen to your surgeon if there is a recommendation for further
nonsurgical workup.
Thank you for taking the time to watch the video.
I hope you will find a solution for your current complaints.