Neurosurgery

The Neurosurgery Department at Fiona Stanley Hospital is an elective spinal surgery service. The service provides both outpatient assessment for people with spine (back or neck) conditions and spinal neurosurgical services.

The team includes:

  • consultant neurosurgeons (specialists in the surgical treatment of conditions affecting the spine, brain and nervous system)
  • neurosurgery registrars (doctors undertaking advanced training in neurosurgery)
  • advanced scope physiotherapists (physiotherapists with post-graduate qualifications, additional training, and substantial experience and expertise in the assessment of spine pain/conditions)
  • clerical staff.

A referral from your general practitioner, medical specialist or other healthcare professional within WA Health is required to be considered for an appointment in this service.

Please note:

  • The neurosurgical service is a specialised surgical service and not a spinal care holistic clinic.
  • Spine surgery is only recommended for limited range of conditions in a small number of people.
  • Patients who will not benefit from spine surgery are discharged from the service, their referral is closed and their care redirected to appropriate community-based care supported by their general practitioner.
  • Our service does not provide non-surgical treatment such as injections, medications or physiotherapy treatment for spine conditions.

The following sections outline the patient journey depending on what care you need.

You will receive an automated text message confirming your referral has been accepted and you will be placed on the outpatient waitlist for initial appointment.

Wait times for an initial neurosurgery outpatient appointment vary depending on the urgency of your clinical need. Please note there is a high demand for new patient appointments and wait times can be long.

For most patients, your initial outpatient appointment will involve a comprehensive assessment at our Neurosurgery Spinal Assessment Clinic. This assessment is best conducted in-person. If you prefer a video call at home or telehealth appointment at another WA Health site, please contact our Outpatient Department on 6152 5100 or see the information in your appointment letter.

Most patients receive an appointment letter approximately four weeks before their scheduled appointment. This letter details where to go and what to bring, so keep it somewhere safe.

How to manage your outpatient appointment

The Manage My Care website (external site) and app allow you or your carers to track your outpatient appointments at metropolitan public hospitals.

Download the free app via the App store (external site) or Google Play (external site).

Most people begin their journey at our outpatient Neurosurgery Spinal Assessment Clinic.

Your initial assessment will be completed by an advanced scope physiotherapist. This is in line with well-established models of care in elective spinal surgery services in Western Australia, Australia and overseas.

Our advanced scope physiotherapists work closely with our consultant neurosurgeons. If required, your case will be discussed with a consultant neurosurgeon to ensure you receive the best care.

You will undergo a thorough assessment to determine if surgery may help your spine condition. If any additional diagnostic tests or scans are needed these will also be arranged.

This process enables patients who:

  • will not benefit from spine surgery to be discharged back to their GP for non-operative management, with recommendations where other secondary or tertiary hospital services may be more appropriate
  • may benefit from spine surgery to be seen earlier, with appropriate tests completed, for surgeon assessment, discussions and, if appropriate, be waitlisted for surgery.

Next steps

If you will not benefit from spine surgery

After one or two outpatient appointments, you will be discharged back to community-based care supported by your general practitioner. Your referral will then be closed.

If you may benefit from spine surgery

You will be offered an appointment in the consultant neurosurgeon’s clinic. In this case additional outpatient appointments will be needed. Read more in the following section.

Spine surgery is recommended for only a limited range of conditions. Usually this is to reduce pressure on nerves in the spine causing pain or weakness in one or both:

  • legs, due to pressure on lower back nerves
  • arms, due to pressure on neck nerves.

Surgery is not helpful for relieving pain only in the back or neck (known as axial spinal pain) or generalised bodily aches.

Further to your assessment at the Neurosurgery Spinal Assessment Clinic, you will be offered an outpatient appointment in the consultant neurosurgeon’s clinic if you have a spine condition that may benefit from surgery. At this appointment, the surgical team will:

  • confirm whether surgery may be helpful in your case
  • discuss the options available to you
  • explain the risks and potential benefits of surgery so you can make an informed decision about whether or not to have surgery
  • obtain your written consent for surgery.

We encourage you and your family members or carers to ask any questions you may have about surgery before providing your consent.

If surgery is recommended and you provide your consent, you will be placed on the elective surgery waitlist. Wait times for surgery once on the elective surgery waitlist vary depending on the clinical urgency of your condition. Please be aware wait times can be long for your surgical procedure even once you are on the elective surgery waitlist. Learn more about the elective surgery journey.

Understanding spinal surgery care

Learn more about spinal surgery care and improving your surgery outcomes and recovery including:

Most spine (back or neck) conditions are managed conservatively without surgery. The following management approaches are recommended by research evidence:

  • staying active and keeping moving
  • exercising regularly
  • making healthy lifestyle choices (for example, healthy eating, not smoking, sleeping well)
  • maintaining a healthy body weight
  • managing stress and staying mentally well
  • taking medication if necessary to help your function.

Often a combination of management approaches is required.

Multidisciplinary pain management involving more than one healthcare professional (such as a pain doctor, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, and/or psychologist) may be needed for people with pain:

  • that has been present for a long time
  • present in many different parts of the body

In most cases, conservative management should be tried first before referral to the neurosurgery service. If you are unsure about your options, you can speak to your general practitioner.

Even if spine surgery has been recommended, the management approaches listed above can still be helpful while you wait for your surgery.

The following internet resources have helpful information for managing back and neck pain conditions:

Referrals are accepted from general practitioners, medical specialists or other healthcare professionals within WA Health.

Further information regarding service-specific criteria and exclusions is available on Clinician Assist WA (external site). This site is accessible to health professionals only.

With a high demand and long waits for new, non-urgent appointments in the neurosurgery service, general practitioners are asked to consider appropriate conservative management options where possible.

Read how to refer a patient.

Contact us

Phone the Fiona Stanley Hospital Helpdesk on 6152 2222.

For outpatient enquiries, please phone 6152 5100.

 

Last Updated: 04/09/2026