Neurosurgeons perform extremely complex medical operations on the brain, spinal cord and other components of the nervous system. They treat individuals suffering from all kinds of neurological conditions and diseases, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Successful neurosurgeons must be patient, confident and rational individuals who exhibit solid judgment and surgical skills. They must be passionate about their work and care deeply about their patients. They also need the stamina and commitment to complete the long, arduous training process, which typically takes at least 13 years.

1- Start preparing for the career while still in high school. Excel in mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, anatomy and psychology courses. Volunteer at a local hospital and start thinking seriously about how you are going to pursue this challenging career.

2- Choose an appropriate college or university and apply for admission into the undergraduate school. Base your decision on the quality of the school's math and science departments, and if possible choose a school with a strong undergraduate neuroscience program. Consider other factors such as cost, distance from home, lifestyle, size of the school and matriculation statistics.

3- Obtain a bachelor's degree in one of the natural sciences and complete requirements for med school. These requirements typically include coursework in biology, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, anatomy, calculus and English. Strive for a diverse liberal arts curriculum with plenty of elective courses in the humanities, social sciences and fine arts. Medical schools like to accept well-rounded individuals.

4- Take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) exam. Your scores on this exam are one of the main deciding factors in your acceptance into medical school and you should plan to spend at least six months preparing for it. Schools use the MCAT to predict your chances of success in medical school.

5- Choose and apply to a medical school with a strong neuroscience department and plenty of course offerings in this area. Again, consider other factors as well, such as cost, prestige, size of the school and available facilities.

6- Complete medical school and take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Take classes related to neuroscience whenever you have the option. All aspiring doctors, including neurosurgeons, are required by law to pass the USMLE before they can practice. This exam tests an individual's knowledge of medical theories, practices and techniques.

7- Enter into a residency program with a focus on neurosurgery. Residencies for neurosurgeons are long and challenging due to the complex procedures, technology and concepts involved. Most take between six and eight years to complete. Stay focused and decide what area you want to specialize in.

8- Complete any additional training required for your specialization. You may choose to specialize in cancer treatment, pediatric neurosurgery, sleep disorders, meningocele repair, craniotomy or other area. Specialization usually requires at least one additional year of training.

9- Become an active contributor to the neurosurgeon and medical community at large. Many successful neurosurgeons don't just perform surgeries. They also contribute research in the field, teach classes to med students and lead seminars.

Because of the depth of knowledge required for a surgeon to successfully complete a variety of procedures, fields of medicine relating to surgery are broken down into categories. Differentiation may be based on patient age but is also based on the part of the body, or organ system, to which a procedure applies. Pediatric cardiothoracic surgery is heart and chest surgery undertaken on infants, children and young adults.

 

Training
    Becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon has many of the same demands required of other doctors, with the addition of special training. All cardiothoracic doctors graduate from college with at least a four-year degree, attend medical school for another four years, then complete a surgical residency followed by a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery. Pediatric specialists often are required an to have an additional fellowship working in pediatrics. This may total anywhere from six to 10 years of training after medical school. However, if surgeons choose to complete their surgical residencies and fellowships in a pediatric hospital, there may be no need for further specialization. In addition, surgeons must receive board certification to practice medicine in their state.

Pediatric Cardiology
    The field of pediatric cardiology deals with two types of cardiac disease: congenital and acquired heart disease. The overwhelming majority of cases seen by pediatric cardiologists are congenital disorders, which means that patients were born with their abnormalities. Acquired heart disease is more typical of older patients who have damaged their cardiovascular systems by making unhealthy choices during their life. Congenital heart diseases come in many degrees of complexity and severity. Disorders range from undeveloped blood vessels and chambers of the heart to dysfunctional valves to improperly connected components of the cardiovascular system. Some disorders can be managed with medication, but others require invasive procedures to correct.

Surgery
    When a team of cardiologists and surgeons decide surgery is the best option for treatment, there are two general types of surgery that can be undertaken. Depending on the patient's circumstances, surgeons will proceed with either reparative or palliative surgery. The purpose of reparative surgery is correct an abnormality in the cardiovascular system. This may include reconnecting vessels in the normal manner, installing prosthetic valves or vessels or repairing holes in cardiac tissue. Palliative care is the name given to treatment that does not entirely resolve an issue but serves to reduce the amount of discomfort or difficulty a patient must face. Such procedures might, for example, involve increasing or decreasing blood pressure in a certain vessels or altering the amount of work cardiac muscle must do to pump blood.

Surgical Statistics
    According to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, about 20,000 pediatric cardiothoracic procedures are carried out in the U.S. every year. Relatively minor procedures, such as those used to close small holes in the heart, have no mortality rate. More complicated procedures' mortality rates vary with the complexity of the case and may range anywhere from less than 5 and up to 30 percent. Considerations such as the patient's age also play a significant role in the likelihood of a positive surgical outcome.

Top Centers for Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
    Rankings made by "US News & World Report" of the best pediatric hospitals for cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery in 2010 hold that the following medical centers are listed in order as the best in the country: Children's Hospital Boston, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Texas Children's Hospital, University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Also ranked in the Top 10 are Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.