PREPARING FOR YOUR VISIT

If you are a patient who is considering surgery, or simply wishing to learn more about neurosurgical treatments, you can set up a consultation. All new patients to our Center who are considering surgery are evaluated by Dr. Blair Ford. We always send out a detailed questionnaire to learn about your condition, previous treatments, your medical history and current medications. It is important to bring the relevant magnetic resonance images to the appointment, if available.

The consultation consists of a detailed interview and neurological examination. At the end, the advantages and disadvantages of surgery are carefully weighed. If a decision to consider surgery is made, a second appointment is set up with one of our two neurosurgeons, Dr. Robert Goodman or Dr. Guy McKhann.

The surgical evaluation consists of another detailed interview and neurological examination with the neurosurgeon. After the appointment, the neurologists and neurosurgeons discuss the case in further detail. Our entire team meets on a regular basis to discuss the best plan for each patient. If surgery appears to hold the best chance for improvement, and can be accomplished with little risk, the patient is offered a date for the operation.

Having an operation is never easy. For surgery of this kind, the patient and the family play a major role in decision-making. There are several pre-operative screening procedures, including general medical assessment, neuroimaging, neuropsychological testing, and electrophysiological testing.