treats pathologies of the skull or brain and spinal column (together with the central and peripheral nervous system, which pass through it). Just like a mechanic, a plumber or an electrician, and unlike a neurologist, he deals with "visible" injuries, which can be removed, stabilized, fixed, modified, decompressed ...
The macro-areas of disorders are the vascular (aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, cavernoma, cerebral or subdural hematomas ...), that of the cerebro-spinal fluid and its circulation or reabsorption (hydrocephalus, various cysts ...), that of tumors benign or malignant - of the brain lining (meningiomas...), of the pituitary gland (adenoma pituitary) or brain (gliomas, glioblastomas, metastases ...) - and finally the macro-area of the cranial nerves (neuromas, trigeminal neuralgia, facial hemispasm ...).
Diseases can be congenital or early-forming (deformity, scoliosis, spina bifida ...) or, more frequently, acquired with aging. The vertebral column as the central structure of the body, both solid and flexible, physiologically degenerates over time. This degeneration can become pathological if it leads to disabling symptoms and a worsening of the quality of life. It can also be accelerated with risk factors such as decreased physical activity, a sedentary lifestyle, malnutrition and weight gain, heavy and repetitive work.
The degeneration of the discs is called disc disease; degeneration of the vertebrae and their joints can be defined as arthrosis, spondylolisthesis (abnormal movement between two vertebrae), or scoliosis if the multiplication of anomalies leads to deformity of the spine.
Abnormalities of the structure of the spine can be asymptomatic or can lead to acute or chronic pain depending on the part of the back they affect (neck pain for neck pains, low back pain for pain in the lumbar area ...). If, on the other hand, these structural anomalies affect the peripheral nervous system that passes into the vertebral canal and exits it at every level (herniated disc cervical, dorsal or lumbar, stenosis of the canal lumbar...), they can cause pain in the limbs (cervicobrachialgia for pain in the arm and hand, sciatica e cruralgia for pain in the buttocks, legs and feet ...). If they affect the spinal cord (stenosis of the cervical canal ...), can cause weakness, numbness of the four limbs, paralysis and difficulty walking (myelopathy...).
This section is currently under development.
Pediatric neurosurgery treats the following pathologies:
