Spinal surgery and neurosurgeon: quo vadis?

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery and Orthopedic Surgery
• Spinal Biomechanics and Physiology
• Medical Specialization

Background:

• Spine surgery has experienced exponential growth due to advances in diagnostic imaging, biomechanics, and instrumentation.
• There is increasing interest in the field, with an emerging discipline of 'spine surgery' integrating neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery.
• Currently, a distinct medical specialty of 'spine specialists' with its own board certification does not exist.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight critical aspects of spinal surgery.
• To discuss the concept of subspecialization within neurosurgery, using spine surgery as a prime example.
• To explore the potential for a future, unified specialty of spine surgery.

Main Methods:

• A Medline literature review was conducted.
• The review focused on publications from 2000 to the present concerning spinal surgery.
• Analysis of trends in diagnostic imaging, spinal biomechanics, bone growth physiology, and instrumentation development.

Main Results:

• Spine surgery is an evolving field that currently involves both neurosurgical and orthopedic surgical expertise.
• The technical progress has fueled significant growth and interest in spinal surgery.
• Productive collaboration between neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons is crucial for advancing spine care.

Conclusions:

• Advancement of spine care necessitates productive collegiality between neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons.
• The development of a dedicated spine surgery specialty is a future possibility.
• Establishing a unified specialty requires common, integrated research efforts, not fragmented contributions from individual disciplines.