Your first visit

No two patients are the same. Neurosurgical care needs to be individualized to the needs of each specific patient. This begins with carefully listening to you. At the initial visit, you will be thoroughly evaluated by Dr Thapar and/or a nurse practitioner, Jolene D’Huyvetter and Katie King, in an unhurried fashion so that we can fully understand your symptoms and needs. In order to better diagnose your condition, we will need to have your imaging studies (MRI, CT scan etc.), as well as the results of other tests and treatments (physical therapy, injections, chiropractic treatment) that may already have been carried out. All of these will be carefully reviewed with you. In some instances, particularly when additional imaging studies or other investigations are required, the nurse practitioners will arrange to have these carried out before seeing Dr. Thapar. This will make sure he has all the important information available when he discusses treatment options with you.

For most spinal conditions, we usually begin with nonsurgical treatments, as many patients can be treated effectively without surgery. These include physical therapy, chiropractic care, or spinal injections. For these we will direct you to trusted colleagues with expertise in these treatments. Only when these options fail, or if they are unlikely to be helpful, is surgical treatment considered. If spine surgery is required, we use minimally invasive approach whenever possible to allow a quicker recovery and to lessen post-operative pain.