Neurosurgery with Sanitas

Most people who see a neurosurgeon do not end up having an operation, and a surgeon who tells you that is a good surgeon rather than a dismissive one.

What neurosurgeons actually operate on

Spine, mostly. Slipped or herniated discs pressing on a nerve. Spinal stenosis, where the canal narrows with age and walking becomes painful. Sciatica that has not settled with time and physiotherapy. Trapped nerves in the neck causing arm pain.

Brain, less often. Tumours, bleeds, hydrocephalus, and some cases of severe epilepsy.

Nerve compression elsewhere, such as carpal tunnel, is sometimes done here and sometimes by orthopaedics.

Intraoperative nerve monitoring, where a neurophysiologist watches the nerves during brain or spine surgery, is included in the neurosurgery cover on the hospital plans; Avanza excludes it.

Surgery is usually the last option, not the first

Worth saying plainly, because people arrive expecting an operation. Most back and neck problems improve without one. A good neurosurgeon will often send you away with physiotherapy and a review, and that is a sign of a careful surgeon rather than a dismissive one.

Surgery becomes the answer when there is nerve damage getting worse, weakness rather than just pain, or when everything else has been tried over months.

The waiting period

Planned neurosurgery sits behind the 10-month waiting period, as all surgery requiring a hospital bed does. The consultation and the scans are available sooner, subject to the 6 months on complex imaging.

Emergencies are covered from day one. A bleed on the brain, a head injury, sudden loss of bladder control with back pain – that last one is a genuine emergency called cauda equina and needs an emergency department immediately, not an appointment.

Where the neurosurgeons are

166 clinics across 38 provinces, with 307 named specialists between them – and you can book any of them yourself, without a referral.

• Madrid – 25 clinics, 49 surgeons
• Barcelona – 17 clinics, 67 surgeons
• Valencia – 10 clinics, 10 surgeons
• Las Palmas – 10 clinics, 7 surgeons
• Tenerife – 9 clinics, 13 surgeons
• Seville – 7 clinics, 15 surgeons

Twelve provinces have none. For an operation of this kind, travelling to a surgeon who does the procedure regularly is the right instinct anyway.

Language at the appointment

For spinal surgery, understanding the risks and the realistic outcome is essential – do not compromise here. Ask us and we will check who is near you and what languages they work in.

What you pay

Nothing on a no-co-payment plan once waiting periods have passed. A fixed amount per appointment on a co-payment plan; the surgery itself is covered in full.

See every Sanitas waiting period in one place, including how switching from another insurer waives nearly all of them.

Find a neurosurgeon near you

Browse neurosurgeons in the Sanitas directory – by province, with addresses, phone numbers and a map.