Spine surgeons are accredited doctors who have completed either Orthopaedic or Neurosurgical training through the Royal Australian College of Surgeons. This involves finishing medical school, internship, residency and then being accepted onto a training program in Orthopaedics or Neurosurgery. They are assessed throughout training and must pass exams to complete their training. Most surgeons will then spend extra time learning more about specific parts of spinal surgery that they are interested in (fellowship), and then typically dedicate a large amount of their time to seeing spine patients and performing spine surgery.
A spine surgeon can perform operations, but a large part of their work involves assessing patients and helping them to recover from their current problem by recommending non-surgical treatments such as medications, injections, physical therapy and other alternative treatment options. When necessary, a spine surgeon will recommend operative treatments and will be able to guide the patient through options and give advice about the expectations from surgery.
Given that both Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical surgeons perform spine surgery, there can be minor differences in training and approach to manage the same problem. Both types of surgeons have had specific training and can perform safe and effective surgery.