NeuroInterventional Surgery is a medical specialty that deals with the use of image guided minimally invasive procedures to treat conditions of the brain and spine. Beginning in the 1960's, pioneering Neurosurgeons and Neuroradiologists began to treat difficult or inoperable conditions with these techniques. By the 1990's clinical trials had established the efficacy of these techniques for the treatment of stroke due to clogged brain arteries and ruptured aneurysms. Around the same time, Neuroradiologists in the USA imported techniques to use image guidance to fix certain fractures of the spine. Ultimately, Neurosurgeons, Neurologists and Neuroradiologists performing these procedures coalesced to form the specialty of NeuroInterventional Surgery.
NeuroInterventional Surgeons have one of the longest training pathways in the USA. After an internship, the physician completes a residency in either Neurosurgery (surgery of the brain and spine), Radiology (the diagnosis of medical problems by interpreting imaging) or Neurology (the non-surgical treatment of brain and spine conditions). Neurosurgeons undergo additional training in Neuroradiology (the interpretation of brain and spine images to diagnose neurological conditions). Neurologists undergo additional training in Stroke Neurology (the medical treatment of stroke) and Neuroradiology. Radiologists undergo additional training in Neuroradiology and Neurosurgery. Once Neurosurgeons, Neuroradiologists and Neurologists have completed their preparatory training, they undergo years of specialized training in NeuroInterventional Surgery. It is not unusual for a NeuroInterventional Surgeon to have completed 8 years of university level training after the completion of medical school and many are pushing forty years old by the time they enter their practices.
NeuroInterventional Surgeons are board certified or board eligible by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties. NeuroInterventional Surgeons are also board certified in their preparatory fields, Neurological Surgery, Radiology, Neuroradiology or Neurology or Vascular Neurology. As a result, it is not uncommon for a NeuroInterventional Surgeon to be board certified/eligible in 3 different areas recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, a rare feat in medicine.
NeuroInterventional Surgery is a small and very rare medical specialty. There are less than 1,000 NeuroInterventional Surgeons in the United States. By comparison, there are nearly 28,000 Neurosurgeons, Neurologists and Neuroradiologists in the USA.
