Dr. Jeffrey D. Gross, MD
Neurosurgeon
4700 Von Karman Ave Suite 1000 Newport Beach CA, 92660About
Dr. Jeffrey Gross practices Neurological Surgery in Newport Beach, CA and in Henderson, NV. As a Neurological Surgeon, Dr. Gross prevents, diagnoses, evaluates, and treats disorders of the autonomic, peripheral, and central nervous systems. Neurological Surgeons are trained to treat such disorders as spinal canal stenosis, herniated discs, tumors, fractures, and spinal deformities, among many others. Dr. Jeffrey D. Gross MD focuses mainly on issues involving the spine, its structure, coversings, and neurological structures passing through and beyond. He will see second opinions, including on a remote videoconference basis, and often handles failed surgeries from elsewhere, and complex cases with multiple pain generators.
Dr. Jeffrey D. Gross, MD's Videos
Education and Training
U.C. Berkely AB 1988
George Washington Univ Med MD 1992
U. C. Irvine, & Long Beach VA Surgical internship 1993
U. C. Irvine, & Long Beach VA Neurosurgical Residency 1997
Univ of New Mexico & VA Hosp Fellowship Spine Biomechanics 1998
Univ of New Mexico & VA Hosp Chief Residency Neurosurgery 1999
Board Certification
Neurological SurgeryAmerican Board of Neurological SurgeryABNS
Provider Details
Dr. Jeffrey D. Gross, MD's Expert Contributions
Keep Your Golf Game Going Longer
Golf can be a great way to enjoy some time off on the weekend, relaxing time with friends, or work up a great appetite, but the mechanics of a strong golf swing can take their toll on the joints and the spine. Typical issues golfers face include back pain, elbow tendonitis, rotator cuff shoulder...
N is for Neck Pain & for Neurosurgeons, but not Necessarily for Surgery!
Neck pain? Let's figure it out and help you!I hope you benefit from my blog on neck pain:Neck pain may occur in a variety of circumstances and can be associated with headaches, jaw and ear symptoms, upper back pain, stiffness (with reduced neck motion), and shoulder/arm radiating symptoms including...
Second Opinions
Second Opinions Before Surgery! What is a Surgical Second Opinion? A surgical second opinion is a completely separate consultation visit with a different spine surgeon and/or neurosurgeon. During that detailed and thorough consultation, the neurosurgeon or spine surgeon takes a complete history...
Surgery Dilemma
A broken rod will not "stabilize" but you may have a solid spinal fusion, making a broken rod potentially not a big problem. That is an important question you should ask. The over-arching concern is failed fusion, which is more likely in the setting of having to take R.A. meds (powerful anti-inflammatories) which are known to inhbit the fusion process. It is best to understand the exact causes of your pain, and why your rods broke. There are also other options for your knees (such as regenerative medicine) but that is also potentially affected by your R.A. meds. I hope this helps. READ MORE
Is back nerve damage permanent?
I know people hate this answer, but it really applies: "it depends." The phrase "nerve damage" is quite broad and may be a lay person's term or a physician's term. The best way to figure out back pain is to sort out the EXACT source of the pain. Is is a disc issue? A joint issue? Is a NERVE ROOT involved? Is it compressed, irritated, other? Having said that, not all NERVE PAIN is permanent. There a different kinds of nerve fibers which have different sensitivities to damage. Ultimately, if you sort out the actual cause of your pain, you can better define nerve relate symptoms, and any actual type of "damage" and what that means BEFORE you can answer any questions of permanency! Your doctor should answer this for you. If not: obtain second opinions!! READ MORE
Skull surgery and brain tumor
This can be a very individualized analysis. The two most important factors are: is the oncology aspect of your condition fully treated and in remission? The second aspect is to confirm that there is no residual pressure on the brain from a bone defect or replacement skull component. Assuming these more serious aspects are handled, then we can address the functional and cosmetic components including missing skull, jaw muscle attachments and atrophy, etc. You can contact a trusted neurosurgeon, or seek second opinion with myself, or my colleagues in this field to address all your needs - hopefully that will also help reduce your stress too. READ MORE
Advice
I do agree with you that there may be going on than is fully explained by the narrowing in your cervical spine (neck). The myelopathy (spinal cord involved) component related to the narrowing seen on your neck is not trivial. However, there is quite significant left sided narrowing of the specific foramen you have demonstrated on the cross section (axial) views which affects the exiting left sided nerves to the arms/shoulder blades, and surroudning areas. We can sometimes see facial symptoms coming from the neck, but I think you deserve a brain MRI for completeness. An MRI of the thoracic spine is not unreasonable. Physical therapy is a common first approach to painful symptoms involving the spine, but if your neurological impairtment is as bad as you say, then it may be time wasted, and could potentially contribute to more serious and/or more permanent nerve/spinal cord problems that can be possibly irreversible or at least less reversible. Medications may palliate the symptoms (but probably not your weakness/dropping things) on a temporary basis but are not a good strategy for long term amelioration of your problems. I don't think you are over-reacting. It is important to seek as many opinions as necessary to get the care you need, with someone you feel you can develop a healthy and trusting doctor-patient relationship. READ MORE
Sciatica after microdiscetomy
If you are having significant symptoms as you describe, AFTER microdiscectomy, a repeat MRI is indicated to make sure that there is no re-herniation, or persistent herniated disc material that can be missed. The MRI should be of HIGH quality (i.e. not an open MRI) and preferably 3 Tesla. READ MORE
What test to do if there is nerve damage in the back?
The phrase "nerve damage" is not adequate to know how to approach recommendations for testing. This is why it is super important to provide much more details in regard to your symptoms. Your doctor should ask you questions based upon that list of complaints. Then a detailed physical examination is done. WITH THOSE clinical-medical data points collected, the proper tests can be advised. READ MORE
EMG testing
Only if you have a risk of bleeding. However, many doctors are doing multiple tests at the same time to evaluate nerve-related symtoms. Thus, blood tests AND an EMG recommended at the same time are not unreasonable. READ MORE
Can hand nerve damage from a stroke be repaired?
It is only possible and depends on the type of damage, the age and health of the person, and how bad the damage is. In looking at rehabilitating, repairing, or regenerating nerves, the word "damage" does not tell us enough to give a more detailed answer. READ MORE
How long does it take to recover from hand nerve surgery?
The answer completely depends on the specific nerve surgery and the severity of the damage. A nerve repair could take a year to reach its maximum benefit. A nerve decompression (like a carpal tunnel release) can start to provide benefits right away, and recover in weeks. READ MORE
Frequent hand numbness?
It is recommended that severe symptoms should be promptly evaluated by a physician with top possibilities being cervical radiculopathy vs. carpal tunnel syndrome, although the onset is not typical for carpal tunnel syndrome. Other possibilities exist, and it would be useful to know if it is just one hand vs. both. READ MORE
How long does intense pain last after lower spine surgery?
Typically, unless something adverse occurred during the procedure, sharp intense surgical site (incisional/reconstructive) pain diminishes by about 5-10% after the third post-operative day, decreasing a few percentage points a day, thereafter. If the pain is neural (nerve related), there should not be sharp shooting pain if the nerve was adequately decompressed. There are other less common factors which can change these numbers, and they only exist as a general guide. By 12 days after surgery, most reasons for surgery (and pain related thereto) should be improving. Make sure to communicate this with your surgeon! READ MORE
Do nerves regenerate after a stroke?
Neurons that do not completely die off after a stroke can improve and regenerate their function along their axonal path. Function of neurons that are completely lost by cell death can be taken up by other neurons through a process called "plasticity." Optimal healing requires aggressive and frequent cognitive and physical/occupational therapies for 12-18 months followed by maintenance care. READ MORE
Concussion?
It is possible you may have hit your head on the bottom, but also shaking your head violently is not a good idea. If that was not willful, it could have been a seizure or something like a seizure. The brain does move a bit within the head, but it is unlikely that you feel it hitting the back of your head. The brain fog is a more concerning symptom and could be concussive. Please see your doctor, as a full neurological examination and possibly imaging of the brain would be considered reasonable. READ MORE
How do you treat nerve damage in the hand?
There are multiple different nerves and various types of damage in the hand, but generally speaking, hand physical therapy ("occupational") is first. Certain medications can assist if there is nerve pain. There are also regenerative/stem cell approaches as well. If a nerve is cut / severed, surgery is usually required. READ MORE
What happens if a herniated disc goes untreated?
An untreated herniated disc, over time, may improve clinically (e.g. pain). The herniated portion may, in a small number of people, get smaller and "resorb" (not absorb). Other times, the herniation may remain, even if the symptoms improve. The flip side is that any symptoms may persist and become more chronic. If there is structural change over time, such as disc height loss, there can be additional sources of pain from the disc structure, the facet joints, and/ or involvement of the exiting nerve paths called the "foramine." READ MORE
Can a pinched nerve cause dizziness?
"Pinched nerves" in the neck are most often from "slipped discs," better known as herniated discs. These neck problems can often cause dizziness by also compressing the vertebral artery(s) in the neck and/or by reducing movement in the neck (which diminishes the ability of the equilibrium centers in the brain stem to detect position and, hence, cause dizziness). So, in short, YES is the answer. READ MORE
Do nerves hurt when regenerating?
Interestingly, the return of nerve function (including any related "regeneration") involves tingling, numbness, and sometimes a sense of discomfort, burning, itching, or pain. This can be similar to what many patients call "nerve pain" and is most commonly found with return of superficial sensory nerves (seen after a healing of a surgical incision, for example). READ MORE
How long does paralysis last after a stroke?
I am sorry to say that there is no answer that fits everyone. Strokes are highly variable as to which part of the brain is affected, how much of the brain is affected, which part of the body is "paralyzed," and whether or not such paralysis is complete. Other variables include age, health, plasticity, and treatment available. You are young, so that is a good sign. For the purposes of my answer, I am assuming "stroke" to mean a cerebrovascular occlusive event, and not a hemorrhage or something else. Good luck! READ MORE
What are symptoms of nerve damage in the neck?
Limiting my answer to the spinal nerve (roots), these structures can be irritated, compressed, or bothered which can cause "damage" or sorts both temporarily or permanently. Symptoms may include such things as radiating pain (often from the neck to the shoulder blade, arm and hand, or up behind the ear and back of the skull), numbness, tingling, and/or weakness. READ MORE
What nerves are related to headaches?
The short answer is many, but generally speaking, the nerves to the face and scalp, and involved muscles can be involved in tension headaches; nerves to the meninges (the lining of the brain) such as the Vagus nerve can cause headaches. Nerves from the brain stem area (cranial nerves) can also cause certain headache syndromes. Some headaches to not come from nerves. READ MORE
Areas of expertise and specialization
Awards
- Top Doctor 2020 2020 Top Docs
- NIH research fellow 1983 NIH and American Heart Association
Professional Memberships
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons
- American Association of Neurological Surgeons
- Joint Section on Spine
- California Association of Neurological Surgeons
Charities and Philanthropic Endeavors
- WHO COVID FUND
- FEMA emergency volunteer
- Access to care champion
Treatments
- Non-surgical and minimally invasive approaches. Second opinions.
Internships
- University of California - 1993Surgical internship
Fellowships
- University of New Mexico - 1998Fellowship Spine Biomechanics
Professional Society Memberships
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons American Association of Neurological Surgeons Joint Section on Spine California Association of Neurological Surgeons
Philanthropic Initiatives
- WHO COVID FUNDFEMA emergency volunteerAccess to care champion
Areas of research
Neurosurgery
Spinal Biomechanis
Stem cell and regenerative medicine
Second Opinions
Biophotonics
Robotics in Medicine
Bio-engeering
Artifical neural networks
Dr. Jeffrey D. Gross, MD's Practice location
Dr. Jeffrey D. Gross, MD's reviews
Write ReviewPatient Experience with Dr. Gross
Recommended Articles
- The History of Lobotomy
Lobotomy is now considered an inhumane and obsolete procedure that no one would ever want to be subjected to. However, at the time of its advent, it was not the primitive and brutal surgery we view it as today. In a time where medications to treat psychological and emotional conditions were...
- Everything You Need to Know About a Laminectomy
What Is a Laminectomy?The lamina is the back part of your vertebra covering the spinal canal. Your doctor could decide to eliminate your lamina or the bone spurs around it when either causes compression of your spinal cord or the roots of your nerves. Pressure on the roots of your nerves can cause:...
- Laminectomy: Reasons for Having One and the Risks It Involves
What Is a Laminectomy?A laminectomy is a kind of surgery whose aim is to decompress the spinal cord. The lamina (the bone that constitutes spinal‘s vertebral arch) and bone spurs are removed during the operation. Both the lamina and bone spurs can compress your spinal cord leading to:...
- What Is Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery?
Spinal surgery usually requires that the surgeon makes a relatively huge incision on the patient’s back in order to have complete access to the spinal vertebrae. This is the usual procedure in dealing with defects of the spine, and it has been so because of the delicate nature of the...
- Doctors and Specialists for Patients with Muscular Dystrophy
Everyone is susceptible to Muscular Dystrophy, especially if it runs in your family. This disease involves the diminishing and weakening of muscles. It is also a progressive condition, meaning, it can get worse and worse if left untreated. Hence, health professionals highly recommend that you see...
- What to Expect in Laminectomy and Spinal Fusion
Decompressive laminectomy is done to release pressure exerted on the roots of the nerves found on the lower back. The condition is mostly brought by old age. There are, however, other reasons your surgeon may suggest surgery. These include herniated discs, traumas, and tumors. In case you are going...