Neurosurgery, also known as Neurological Surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with surgery of the brain, spine, and peripheral nerves, and their surround structures.  

Neurosurgeons have one of the longest training periods of any medical specialty due to the complexity of the nervous system and the advanced techniques used in surgery.  Following four years of college and four years of medical school, the physician has a six- or seven-year Residency in Neurosurgery.  Some neurosurgeons may also pursue additional training, called Fellowship, for further intensive study in a particular area for one or two more years.

Following Residency, the neurosurgeon sits for the Board Examination of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, a detailed oral and written examination of the physician’s skill, judgment and fund of knowledge.  A case log of operations performed over a two-year period, including outcomes and complications, is also submitted for review and examination.  If the physician successfully passes all of these assessments, he or she may be granted Board Certification.  

Neurosurgeons are trained in advanced surgical techniques such as brain and spinal microsurgery, endoscopic surgery, laser surgery, minimally-invasive surgery, reconstructive spine surgery, spinal fusion and instrumentation, trauma surgery, surgery for Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders, surgery for intractable epilepsy, peripheral nerve surgery, surgery for intractable pain, and stereotactic radiosurgery.  Some neurosurgeons are also trained in endovascular techniques, meaning the use of catheters, balloons, coils and stents in the arteries and veins of the brain and spine.