neurotology

[anxietypeaker]

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Hi,

I'm only a premed (will start med school next yr). Hence, if you dont want to read questions that are utterly naive and possibly stupid...dont read more 🙂

Was wondering though if neurotologists actually operate on the nervous system itself (brain/cranial nerves). I've see some procedures where the neurotologist digs thru the nasal cavity to get to the pituitary, but then the neurosurgeon does the actual operation on the nervous system. Do neurotologists not actually operate on the nervous system itself? How about acoustic neuroma surgery? Does the neurotologist work on the nerves itself or do they hand it off to neurosurg?

 

[lipofuscin232]

The quick and dirty answer to your question is typically NO. Some neurotologists are experienced with skull base surgery (probably the one you are describing), but generally in cases like acoustic neuromas the ENT doc will do the first part of the operation to provide exposure so the neurosurgeon can come in and remove the tumor. (And often times the exposure is the longest and most interesting part...(but hey I'm biased). The majority of their operations consist of cochlear implants, stapedectomies, tympanoplasties, mastoidectomies, etc. If you're interested in the ear, then it is a field you should look into...if not, then maybe you should look into neurosurg if operating on the brain is where your interest lies. One of the great things about ENT is that we work very closely with many other fields...ophtho, neurology, neurosurgery, thoracic, etc. This is one of the reasons why most ENT residencies require you to rotate through neurosurgery as well.

 

[resxn]

Also, I would be quite surprised to see a neurotologist due a transseptal approach for a pituitary, that's usually a general ENT or rhinologist.