Locations
Neurosurgery of South KC
Overland Park, KS
About
Bio
I am an experienced brain and spine surgeon with more than 20 years and 5000 surgeries under my belt. My focus is on minimally invasive techniques and microsurgery, to get optimal results.
I bring compassion, honesty and the best of modern technology to your care, along with a promise to take care of you the way I would want my own family cared for. I have a career of proven excellent outcomes, and I will do my very best for you.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Neurosurgery
Licenses
United States: Illinois, Michigan
Doctor Q&A
79 Answers
30 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 37-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Mixed: Back pain has many causes: muscles, disks, joints, ligaments, and referred pain from other sources. The small branch nerves to the facets which are t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Born with it: Heterotopic grey matter is when a small island of gray matter is out of place in the white matter layer of the brain, seen on MRI. It occurs during d... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Possibly: Even though your whole head or body goes into an MRI machine, the images and evaluation are focused on specific areas. Sometimes an abnormality in an... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 25-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Post concussive: After a concussion it is not unusual to have some persistent headache, dizziness, vertigo or general malaise. So long as the symptoms are getting bet... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Depends!: A herniated ("ruptured", "protruded") disk can respond nicely to physical therapy and the body's natural healing processes. In my experience it can t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Concussion: Concussion is also called mild traumatic brain injury. It is a transient loss of brain function after injury, often with a loss of consciousness. Sy... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Maybe your back: Low back pain that radiates into the leg is called sciatica. One common cause is a herniated disc in the lumbar area, but that is not the only cause.... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 56-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Sciatica: Low back pain that radiates into the leg is called sciatica. A herniated disc in the lumbar area is one common cause. Simple exercises and stretchin... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Primary care: General medical problems are best addressed first by your family doctor, usually a specialist in Family Medicine or Internal Medicine. Many women see... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Fracture: The transverse processes are the little wings that stick out from the side of the lumbar vertebra. Small muscles attach to them. Any fracture takes ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Variable: A herniated ("ruptured") disk can respond nicely to physical therapy and the body's natural healing processes. In my experience it can take weeks to ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 29-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
6-8 weeks: Bony fusion grows like a fracture heals. It generally takes a minimum of 6-8 weeks to see good Xray evidence of fusion. In my practice I will get X-... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Ignore: If specific activities make headache, nausea or dizziness worse, hold off on those activities!!
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 49-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Varies: Neurosurgery residency lasts 6-8 years after completion of Medical School. Salary depends on the PGY year of experience, and varies somewhat between ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Most without surgery: A herniated ("ruptured") disk can respond nicely to physical therapy and the body's natural healing processes. But it can take weeks to months. Othe... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Post concussive: Headache, mild nausea, some dizziness and generalized aches and pains are common after a concussion. Rest and reducing activity along with over the c... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Don't worry: The Cisterna Magna is a collection of cerebrospinal fluid at the back of the brain between the two hemispheres of the cerebellum. The size of this no... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
None: Narcotic pain medications are not a good solution. They are all addictive, and the body gets used to them in all cases. This means you will need hig... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Sciatica: Low back pain that radiates into the leg is called sciatica. A herniated disc in the lumbar area is one common cause. Simple exercises and stretchin... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Compression fracture: A compression fracture in the thoracic or lumbar spine will generally heal in 6-8 weeks but can take longer. If a patient of mine is not having much ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Brain surgeons: Neurosurgeons are called brain surgeons. In the USA we also perform neck and back surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, and care for patients in the clin... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Like a birth mark: Hemangioma in the skin is known as a 'strawberry mark' and is often found at birth. As many as 15 percent of people have a hemangioma in the bone and... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Cranial neuropathy: I would recommend seeing a neurologist. In your age group, the most common cause is diabetes but you report being In otherwise good health. Other caus... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Not necessarily: Lumbar fusion patients vary in their activity tolerance after surgery. I allow patients to lift up to 15 lb after surgery. Some have resumed full nor... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 58-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Spinal Tap: Lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, is a test of the cerebrospinal fluid. CSF is a clear fluid similar to saline in an IV, or eye drops, that surrounds t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
NO: In Moyamoya disease the inner layer of the inner layer of the carotid artery overgrows and fills the artery, eventually closing it off. But this is n... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Not Chiari: In Chiari malformation, a small part of the cerebellum protrudes through the bottom opening of the skull called the foramen magnum into the cervical s... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Double vision: The third cranial nerve, Oculomotor, comes from the midbrain and supplies most of the muscles that move and open the eye. Weakness, called "palsy", o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 49-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Thoracic nerve pain: The nerves that go to the chest area come from the THORACIC spine and give bands of feeling to the chest: nipple area approximately T4, bottom of the ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 22-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Post concussive : After a concussion it is not unusual to have some persistent headache, dizziness, vertigo or general malaise. So long as the symptoms are getting bet... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 17-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
See a doctor: Frequent urination and weight loss in a young person could be diabetes or kidney problems, but those are not the only possible causes!! See a doctor ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 55-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
A large tumor: A tumor of this size may be causing symptoms and serious consideration of surgical resection should be undertaken by a skilled neurosurgeon. Only if ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Yes: Should be ok at normal doses of hydrocodone (5-15 mg per dose, 3-4 times a day). At VERY high doses (more than 120 mg per day), there is a slight ris... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Periosteum: The outer layer of the cranial dura mater derives from the periosteum of the inner table and it is not tightly attached to the skull. It can be dissec... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Sleep paralysis: During the normal dreaming phase of sleep called REM SLEEP, the closed eyes dart around but the body is unable to move. This probably protects us fro... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Post concussive : After a concussion it is not unusual to have some persistent headache, dizziness, vertigo or general malaise. So long as the symptoms are getting bet... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Not from the neck: All of the movement and feeling in the face is controlled by nerves that come directly from the brain, called cranial nerves. There are 12 pairs of th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 64-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Numbness: The trigeminal nerve is the main nerve for sensation or feeling in the face. So if that nerve was damaged, you will have numbness or tingling as a re... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Pituitary hormones: The pituitary gland is at the base of the brain and produces many hormones that control the endocrine glands of the body. Growth Hormone (HGH) is one... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 24-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Decompression: Some people are born with bony connections between vertebrae, sometimes called "block vertebrae." Surgery to disconnect them would not restore normal... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 49-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Disk degeneration: The disk is made of two types of cartilage: a softer inner nucleus pulposis and a fibrous stiffer annulus fibrosis. As we age, the connective tissue ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
See your surgeon: Fluid leaking out of a spinal incision could be pus, blood, spinal fluid, or a combination. An elevated temperature is concerning for infection. You... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 31-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Hopefully: After healing, the bone should get back to normal strength. Recovery from a spine fracture and back surgery depends on the degree of injury, your own ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 56-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Sinusitis : Sinusitis may require surgery. Like many infections, antibiotics alone may not be enough. Modern minimally invasive sinus surgery is less invasive a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 27-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
NO: Aspirin doesn't affect the results of the test but it may lead to excessive bleeding from the electrode/needle part of the EMG test. So if the doctor... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Depends: Spine MRI can be done without contrast because disks and soft tissues can be distinguished from the nerves and bones. We order MRI with and without c... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Dysesthesia: The most common paresthesia is "pins and needles," when a foot or hand "falls asleep." Paresthesia has no permanent ill effects, relatively mild, and ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Don't worry: The Cisterna Magna is a collection of cerebrospinal fluid at the back of the brain between the two hemispheres of the cerebellum. The size of this no... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
SUSTAINED RELEASE: Cymbalta, (duloxetine) chemical name Duloxetine, is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant. It affects the uptake and function of th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old female asked:
Dr. Charles Harveyanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Dense bone: The skull rests on the first cervical vertebra, sometimes called the ATLAS, which is shaped like a ring. The second vertebra or AXIS has a thumb shap... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
4
Recommendations
82
Thank you notes
Apr 8, 2015
Dr. Harvey is thorough, clear, and has an outstanding educational and clinical background. I highly recommend him.
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Harvey is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Harvey is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
This was very helpful. Thanks! I appreciate you prompt response and I feel more secure. I will ask my doctor to postpone my PT due to the pain I am still in. Thanks again Dr.Harvey
HealthTap member
Thank you, your quick reply made me feel good! Going to see an ent had head injury recently thank you for your help
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Thank you for taking the time to answer. Your answer reassured me.
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, IL
Graduated 1987MD
Residency
NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Completed 1993
Awards
Blue Distinction Center PLUS for Spine Surgery
Number One in Illinois in Spine Surgery in 2011, Healthgrades
Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
Affiliations
AANS
American Association Of Neurological Surgeons / Congress Of Neurological Surgeons
North American Spine Society (NASS)
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