Before the Office Visit
Before you call, make sure you have:
- The name of your referring physician (or primary care physician)
- What your symptoms are
- What diagnostic tests you already have had and where you had them done
- Your insurance information
If you already have an appointment you can save time by completing the health history questionnaire from home and only come to our office 10 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment by the link below
- This clinical intake questionnaire helps the physician assess what is clinically going on with you, what makes your problem better or worse, and what have you have already tried before seeing us.
To make your appointment go smoothly, we ask that you come prepared with the following items.
- All current radiological films and written radiologist reports of MRl’s, CAT Scans, and X-rays. In order to accurately assess your condition, the neurosurgeon needs a radiology exam & report that is less than six months old or since your date of injury. Please ask your primary physician for a referral if you need one for a radiology study.
- Your insurance card and picture id (license) so we can easily identify you and determine who is financially responsible for the visit.
- A referral form if your insurance company requires one. If your visit is related to a work injury, you must provide us with the name of the work insurance carrier, address to send claim to, claim #, date of injury, name and telephone # of the claim adjuster, and the name & number of attorney if you have one
- Any relevant medical records from previous physicians/therapists that would help our physicians understand your history.
- A completed list of any medications you are currently taking (including over the counter vitamins & supplements) and allergies you have
- Many patients find it helpful to write their questions out ahead of time so they can be comfortable that the physician covered question.
- If possible, please fill out medical history questionnaire found above
During your office visit
- Our physicians will listen to your medical history and reason for coming to our office, do a thorough examination and review your imaging studies.
- If a determination is made that surgery is the most effective option, you will be explained the risks and benefits of the recommended procedure. We will provide you with written information to take home and read so you can review everything discussed during the consult before you make the final decision. For additional information, we encourage you to click on the FAQ’s section of our web site.
- If surgery is not an option, we will provide you and your referring physician with some non-surgical recommendations.
Post Office Visit/ Discharge Instructions
- Please follow the post op instructions carefully.
- You may call us with any questions at anytime if things are not clear on the post op instructions.
- Please call the office 2 to 3 days after the surgery to make your post op appointment about ten days after surgery.
For your convenience, the post operative instructions are listed below. You may click on the appropriate link for the description.