An Approach to Preoperative Neurologic Consultation for Non-neurologic Surgery

Neurologists are commonly asked to provide outpatient or inpatient consultation prior to non-neurologic surgery in patients with an underlying neurologic disorder; however, a paucity of neurologic literature and no evidence-based guidelines exist regarding how to approach this common clinical problem. Extrapolating on the literature regarding the process of preoperative consultation by internists and internal medicine subspecialists, this article attempts to provide a general framework for the neurologist who is asked to evaluate a patient preoperatively. The importance of timely and effective communication, including discussion and clarification with the referring surgeon regarding the neurologist's role in each preoperative assessment, is stressed.