Patient Journey

From first enquiry to recovery.

Principles

Four commitments that shape every stage of your care.

Consultant-delivered throughout

Consultation, surgery and follow-up are carried out by Mr Russo personally. There is no rotating team and no delegated operating.

Surgery is the exception

The majority of patients seen are treated without an operation. Mr Russo will tell you plainly when surgery is unlikely to help.

Everything in writing

Diagnosis, options, risks and recovery expectations are documented and sent to you, so that decisions are made calmly, at home.

One point of contact

A single medical secretary coordinates appointments, imaging, insurance and theatre dates from first enquiry to final review.

The process

How an independent opinion is prepared.

01

First Contact

A confidential enquiry, answered personally.

Enquiries reach Mr Russo’s medical secretary directly rather than a call centre. Urgent presentations, progressive weakness, suspected cord compression or cauda equina symptoms, are triaged the same day.

02

Consultation

Forty-five unhurried minutes with the consultant himself.

Every consultation is conducted by Mr Russo personally — never delegated to a registrar or an associate. The appointment begins with your history, proceeds to a full neurological examination, and ends only when your questions have been answered.

03

Diagnosis & Written Plan

A clear diagnosis, and a plan you can read at home.

You leave with a working diagnosis and a written management plan setting out the options, their evidence base, their risks and their expected recovery. A copy is sent to your GP and, where relevant, to your referring specialist.

04

Treatment

The least intervention that will achieve the result.

Most patients are treated without an operation. Where surgery is the right answer, it is performed by Mr Russo at a leading London private hospital, with a consultant anaesthetist and, for complex work, intraoperative neuromonitoring.

05

Recovery & Follow-Up

Supported for six months, not six days.

Rehabilitation is planned before surgery, not improvised afterwards. You are reviewed at defined intervals, with direct access to the secretary between appointments and coordinated physiotherapy throughout.

Preparing for your consultation

The appointment is more productive when the groundwork is done. Please bring, or send in advance:

Many patients return to their original surgeon reassured, and the written opinion is prepared so that it is genuinely useful to them. Where Mr Russo disagrees with the proposed plan, he will say so, and explain precisely why.

Fees

Transparent consultation fees.

Three pathways, written so you know what to expect before you arrive.

45 minutes

Initial Consultation

A precise diagnostic appointment, reviewing your history, examination and imaging.

60 minutes

Second Opinion

An independent surgical and non-surgical assessment of a diagnosis you have already received.

End-to-end

Surgical Pathway

Personalised care from diagnosis through surgery to fully supported recovery.

Your spine deserves considered care.

Begin with a precise, unhurried consultation. We will listen, examine, review your imaging and explain the options, surgical and otherwise