Back Pain Surgery Options
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Sometimes an aching back can be chalked up to strain or old age, but when it becomes evident the problem is much more serious, back pain surgery options need to be considered.
If it gets so bad that you find it difficult to perform even the simplest tasks, that every slight movement causes excruciating and paralyzing pain not just on your back, but other parts of your body as well, and if non-surgical treatments prove ineffective, these are undoubtedly signs you need back surgery.
What are the different types of back surgery? Also, what is the most common back surgery?
For lumbar spinal stenosis or narrowing, here is the most common back surgery: Laminectomy, wherein the lamina, which is the backside of the spinal column forming a roof above the spinal cord, is excised to alleviate pressure on the nerve roots.
Spinal Fusion, a common procedure for chronic non-specific back pain with degenerative changes, involves the welding of two or more vertebrae into one immobile unit to stabilize a damaged spine and relieve pain caused by movement.
Other back surgery types include Discectomy, which is the removal of a herniated portion of a disc that causes pain and other symptoms.
There are two kinds of discectomy, the first being percutaneous, which uses a laser or suction device to remove part of the disc through a small incision. The second is microsurgical, which employs a microscope to guide the surgeon in removing the damaged part of the disc, as well as a small part of the bone that covers the spinal canal.
Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are similar kinds of lower back surgery for dealing with vertebral compression fractures. In both procedures, bone cement is injected into the vertebra, but kyphoplasty involves inserting and inflating a balloon to restore the compressed vertebra to normal height.
Traditionally, these procedures would be performed through open surgery, which entails a long incision down the patient’s back and requires the soft tissue and muscles along the spine to be moved away. In certain instances, the tissue would even have to be removed.
There is, however, a new surgical option for back pain, minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS), which makes use of smaller incisions compared to traditional surgery for lower back pain, ensuring less pain and less harm to the surrounding tissues and muscles.
Standard back surgery recovery time usually takes approximately three to four months. On the other hand, those who undergo minimally invasive back surgery recuperate in about half the time, taking up four to six weeks of recovery, with some patients going back to work just two weeks after surgery.
Every type of surgery comes with a set of risks. But with minimally invasive spinal surgery, the risks are, as the term indicates, minimal, and the time of recovery is much faster.
Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery of Texas offers world-class medical service and is the finest MISS facility in Plano, TX. To learn about other back pain surgery options, call (972) 244-3491 for an appointment today.
