At your first visit, Dr. Buttermann will greet you and introduce himself.  He will then ask about the primary concern related to your spine that brings you to your visit at Midwest Spine & Brain Institute.  He will gather information regarding your current condition as well as your past medical history.  Some of this will already be known to him from your pre-visit history. 

 

He will review this with you and give you a chance to make changes or additions and clarification to the history obtained by the historian at your pre-visit interview.  This will also help clarify salient aspects of your condition. 

After this, Dr. Buttermann will then examine you. 

 

The examination is a neurological examination as well as an evaluation of your spinal alignment and range of motion to the affected part of your spine. 

Imaging studies will then be reviewed.  These may include x-rays, MRI scans, or CT scans depending upon what is available. 

Then, depending upon the complexity of the case and the amount of information obtained at this initial visit, a preliminary or definitive diagnosis will be given.  Typically, a treatment plan is also given depending upon the diagnosis. 

 

In some cases, if the diagnosis is not yet certain, additional diagnostic testing may be indicated prior to treatment or in conjunction with treatment. 

 

Dr. Buttermann emphasizes the treatment plan regardless of the surgical indications.  That is, he will advocate a conservative approach and outline a treatment plan whether you are an operative candidate or whether you are a nonoperative candidate.  He feels it important to not leave the patient wondering, as when some patients are told they do not need surgery, and they are not given any other options. 

 

One should note that at times, in order to get into the clinic for a urgent evaluation, patients may be seen by Dr. Buttermann's physician assistant, Eric Salman, PAC.  He has worked with Dr. Buttermann for over ten years and knows is very experienced with the treatment and diagnostic protocols that we use. 

A distinguishing part of Dr. Buttermann's practice is that he tracks outcomes for all of his patients.  That is, he tracks and reports the outcomes of "all comers," unlike other surgeons who only present selected patients and thus do not represent the true outcomes of that physician’s practice. 

 

Dr. Buttermann's practice outcomes include the ideal patients for a given diagnosis and procedure as well as more challenging cases for patients who may not fit into just one diagnostic category.  It is important for you to recognize this difference in evaluating different surgeons and the results of their surgeries. 

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