Choosing the right doctor for you or a loved one can be difficult, especially when you have a spinal condition that requires the care of a neurosurgeon. You set out to find the right one by asking family and friends for recommendations. You also scour the internet, reading webpage after webpage about different neurosurgeons and their qualifications, because you want only the very best. After all, the spine is a complex and delicate part of the body. Your search reveals a wealth of information but no clear instruction on how to determine which doctor is the best. What should you do?
We have some good news: If you live in northeastern New Jersey, there’s a terrific list that can help guide you.
Each year (201)Health, part of the (201) Family of Magazines, publishes a Top Doctors list of the most exceptional doctors in Bergen County, New Jersey, the most populated county in the state. To create this prestigious list, the magazine brought in MSP Communications, researcher and publisher of Super Doctors. MSP Communications asked Bergen doctors to nominate other doctors in the county they would entrust their medical care to if they or a loved one needed to see a doctor. (Doctors, of course, cannot nominate themselves.)
Nominated candidates are then vetted for their professional accomplishments and disciplinary history. But that’s not all. A blue ribbon panel evaluates the candidates, and only the doctors with the highest total points in their specialty earn Top Doctor status.
The magazine notes that no list is perfect, and as such some qualified doctors may not be included on their list. The list serves instead as an indicator of exceptional physicians who have earned the approval and recognition of their peers—and as a starting point in a patient’s search for the right doctor.
This year, three of our neurosurgeons at The Spine Hospital at the Neurological Institute of New York once again earned a spot on the Top Doctor list: Spine Hospital Director Dr. Paul C. McCormick, Dr. Michael G. Kaiser and Dr. Alfred T. Ogden.
Each neurosurgeon has his own area of expertise and unique qualifications.
- Dr. McCormick is a world-renowned neurosurgeon with 25 years of experience. He specializes in a swath of spinal disorders, including spinal cord tumors, herniated cervical and lumbar discs and spinal stenosis. He also has expertise in a range of surgical techniques, including microsurgery and spinal stabilization and fusion.
- Dr. Kaiser, who has been at the Spine Hospital at the Neurological Institute of New York for more than two decades, specializes in spinal cord tumors and degenerative conditions of the spine, such as cervical spondylotic myelopathy. He also has expertise in performing complex spinal reconstructions and using minimally invasive surgical techniques.
- Dr. Ogden has been at the Spine Hospital for about a decade. He specializes in treating spinal cord tumors and is an expert in minimally invasive spine surgery. In fact, he conducts research on developing new minimally invasive spine surgery techniques.
The search for the best doctor is not an easy one, but resources like the one put out by (201) Health can make it more manageable and give you confidence in your decision.
Congratulations to our Spine Hospital neurosurgeons for receiving this special distinction!
Read more about Dr. McCormick on his bio page here.
Read more about Dr. Kaiser on his bio page here.
Read more about Dr. Ogden on his bio page here.