Neuro Spinal Surgery in Stirling

If you live in the Forth Valley or further afield and have back, neck, arm or leg pain, you can access bespoke treatment quickly at The Kings Park Hospital in Stirling.

The hospital is centrally located and easy to find from main arterial routes such as the M10, the A905 and A91. We offer a safe, friendly and comfortable environment for patients, with appointments arranged at times to suit you – during the day or in the evening.

Our neuro spinal clinic provides a range of treatments for neck, back, arm and leg pain and diseases of the spine from highly qualified Spinal Neurosurgeons. They work as part of a multidisciplinary team of specialist nurses, radiographers, physiotherapists and pain management specialists.

Appointments are available with our fellowship-trained Consultant Neurosurgeons within 48hrs. Our neurosurgeons are skilled surgeons who often have extensive research interests and have written or contributed to publications on their subject both nationally and internationally.

Neuro spinal surgery relates to the central nervous system and is a medical speciality that diagnoses, manages, and surgically treats patients with spine problems and neurological problems of the brain and spinal cord. Surgery is commonly performed for spinal conditions including back and neck pain, sciatica, protruding (herniated) and slipped (prolapsed) cervical discs and degenerative diseases such as arthritis.

There is often confusion between what a Neurosurgeon does and what a Neurologist does. Neurologists deal with the diagnosis and management of neurological disorders through non-surgical interventions only, such as drug therapy. Both Neurosurgeons and Neurologists refer on to each other where required.

At The Kings Park Hospital, our Consultant Neurosurgeons predominately manage spinal problems, such as sciatica and perform spinal surgery. However, they can also deal with brain tumours, general neurosurgery, and water on the brain (hydrocephalus).

Spinal treatments include:

• Relief of arm pain from cervical nerve root compression in the neck (anterolateral foraminotomy)
• Cervical spine surgery
• Removing a disc through the front of the neck to alleviate nerve pain (cervical discectomy)
• Local anaesthetic and steroid injection (epidural) for back pain
• Lower back surgery (lumbar laminectomy)
• Surgery to fix a slipped disc in the lower back (lumbar microdiscectomy)
• Operating to take away the pressure on the spinal cord or nerves in the lower spine (lumbar spinal decompression)
• Keyhole surgery (minimally invasive spinal surgery (MISS))

As a multidisciplinary speciality, out neurosurgeons work closely with other specialists, including nurses, radiologists, radiotherapists, physiotherapists and they can refer onto neurologists and orthopaedic surgeons when appropriate.

In most cases, your GP will refer you to our neuro-spine clinic at The Kings Park Hospital for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of back and neck pain. We also accept patients who wish to self-refer without a GP letter.

Sometimes you may be referred from other physicians such as orthopaedic surgeons, who, after initial assessment, believe your pain may be due to a nerve trapped in the spine.

Our Consultant Neurosurgeons will also see you if you’re experiencing sensory changes (paraesthesia) to any part of the body and head. For example, if you’re having headaches and neurological symptoms such as altered sensations like pins and needles.

When you arrive at the hospital, you’ll be greeted warmly by our friendly reception team, who will show you to a seat. Your consultant will come out to meet you and lead you, or push your wheelchair, into a comfortable private consulting room.

You’ll have as much time as you need to explain your problem, and for your Consultant Neurosurgeon to diagnose what’s amiss. They’ll start by asking you about your medical history, which often gives them a steer on what’s wrong, followed by a targeted clinical examination.

Your consultant will examine the appropriate part of your spine and nervous system based on your symptoms. It can be a quick examination or a detailed one for which your surgeon will get a chaperone or more specialist equipment.

Patients usually require some sort of imaging at the end of the consultation. For a fracture, your consultant may send you to our radiology department in the hospital for an x-ray. We use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the head or spine to look for a trapped nerve or other structural problems. Radiologists will perform MRI scans at our sister hospital, The Ross Hall Hospital in Glasgow. A scan can also be arranged in Dundee on request by utilising a research scanner based in the city.  After these scans you will return to Kings Park Hospital for follow up appointments with your consultant.

We understand back and neck pain can have a severe impact on your daily function and quality of life. Your Consultant Neurosurgeon will organise scans and treatment as quickly as possible. In some cases, follow up appointments can be arranged on the same day of your scan so prompt diagnosis and treatment can be provided. 

During your post scan follow-up appointment, your consultant will go over your history and explain the results of the scan. If the scan shows a cause for your symptoms such as nerve entrapment or back pain, they will explain the options, benefits and risks of each treatment and give you time to reflect on the pros and cons of each intervention or treatment. Most of the time non-operative management strategies suffice in alleviating the problem.

If intervention such as surgery is needed, your consultant will send you an information sheet on the procedure detailing the risks involved. In cases that need speed, we can do surgery within two weeks of the scan, but it’s essential to think about the risks involved. Your consultant may suggest you come back with a friend or family member if you have a complex problem with knock-on effects.

We run a pre-admission clinic two weeks before surgery to check that you received the sheet, hear the risks again and double-check you want to go ahead. It’s an excellent time to express any concerns you have and ask about the time you need off work.

At The Kings Park Hospital, we can do joint and nerve root injections under local anaesthetic and sedation. General anaesthetic is used for common surgeries including lumbar microdiscectomy (shaving the disc to take pressure of the nerve), lumbar laminectomy, lateral recess decompression and nerve root decompression.

If your consultant decides that surgery isn’t appropriate, they may refer you to one of our pain management specialists. You can often see a pain specialist the following day. They can administer injections and other interventions such as psychotherapy to manage the pain.

You’ll want to see a consultant quickly for an assessment and diagnosis if you experience back, neck, arm or leg pain. At The Kings Park Hospital, we make every effort to see you quickly and at a date and time convenient to you.

Our Consultant Neurosurgeons provide a tailored treatment plan and are open and candid about your diagnosis. If it could be one or more conditions, they’ll explain what they think it is or what it’s most likely to be and signpost you to an appropriate specialist if need be – a process called differential diagnosis. It gives you a firm idea of the next steps in your care and alleviates many concerns and fears.

Benefits:

• Timely access to scans – often within two weeks or earlier in urgent cases
• Clear explanations of your problem and the benefits and risks of surgery
• Plenty of information and a pre-admission clinic where you can ask further questions you may have after having time to reflect
• A friendly, easy-going multidisciplinary team