Tiger Woods’ Back Fusion Surgery
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Tiger Woods’ Back Fusion Surgery was a minimally invasive procedure performed by Dr. Richard Guyer, a professional, reputable, and experienced surgeon. Woods’ victory at the Masters’ tournament in 2019 was a stunning sports comeback thanks to the minimally invasive back pain surgery known as ALIF. In today’s article, we will discuss Tiger’s wood back fusion surgery and the benefits of ALIF. Read on!
Tiger Woods’ Back Fusion Surgery
Tiger Woods underwent his fourth spinal surgery in 2017 due to severe back pain and leg pain. Research shows that Woods had not played in any major tournaments for over a year. Unlike other surgeries, Tiger Woods’ back fusion surgery was a lumbar fusion, a minimally invasive procedure known as ALIF.
Woods had three back pain surgeries in the past. These procedures that Woods underwent were lumbar discectomies performed through a posterior approach. The 2017’s back pain surgery, ALIF, was a procedure performed by Dr. Richard Guyer. Dr. Guyer followed an anterior approach to ensure the delicate muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues do not undergo damages.
During the procedure, Dr. Guyer made a vertical incision below Woods’ belly button to the pelvis. Dr. Guyer carried out the dissection to reach Woods’ lumbar spine. Using specialized tools, Dr. Guyer removed the damaged disc and replaced it with a bone graft material, leading to the fusion of the two vertebrae (L5 and S1) into a single, solid bone. Woods underwent a six months rehabilitation period and came back to win the 2019 Masters.
What is ALIF Back Pain Surgery?
ALIF is a minimally invasive procedure performed by qualified surgeons to treat disc problems in the lumbar spine. Like Tiger Woods’ Back Fusion surgery, ALIF locks two or more bones to stop discomfort and pain in the lumbar spine.
The purpose is to correct the spinal alignment and relieve pain in the lumbar spine that may radiate through the buttocks into the legs. Our MINT’s neurosurgeon makes a small incision in the front of the belly to remove the damaged disc.
Our surgeon places a bone graft material in the space to restore the height and reduce discomfort or pain due to nerve pinching—the bone fuse into a solid piece during the rehabilitation period. Here at MINT, our neurosurgeon may recommend spinal fusion surgery to repair herniated or damaged disc, leading to realigned bones and relieving pain in the spine and legs.
During the procedure, our surgeon makes an incision in the front. Our vascular surgeon and neurosurgeon work as a team. The vascular surgeon ensures the path is clear to the spine by moving aside the muscles and vessels to the leg.
Once done, our neurosurgeon removes the disc and places a bone graft material using spacers, cages, screws, and rods. Bear in mind that the spacer restores the height between two vertebrae, corrects your spinal curvature, and relieves nerves that cause pinching in the spine.
Benefits of ALIF Back Pain surgery
Tiger Woods’ Back Fusion surgery followed an anterior approach because Woods’ had previously undergone three discectomies from a posterior approach. Performing the surgery from a posterior approach would damage his spine’s muscles and other soft tissues. That’s why Dr. Richard Guyer recommended him the ALIF surgery. Here are a few benefits of the ALIF back pain surgery:
- The surgeon can use a large spacer device to provide more support and increase chances of fusion
- The path to the lumbar spine from the front is less painful and leads to fewer disruptions
- It is an excellent way to work on L5/S1 vertebrae and store their normal position
- The surgeon can avoid damages to the spinal nerves through an anterior approach.
- Because ALIF is a minimally invasive surgery, the patient can go home within 1-2 days after the procedure.
- Recovery takes between six and twelve weeks, depending on your health status and rehabilitation
MINT surgeons perform ALIF surgery to treat degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, and spondylolisthesis. Some studies show that ALIF is also helpful in removing a herniated disc.
MINT has a state-of-the-art facility equipped with advanced, cutting-edge tools to streamline the overall process. ALIF surgery involves making a small incision in the front to reach the lumbar spine, leading to reduced blood loss, less pain, spared muscles, tissues, and nerves, and faster recovery.
MINT has qualified, experienced, and skilled neurosurgeons who have performed many surgeries with over 95% success rate. Suppose you have back pain and conservative treatment options have failed to relieve discomfort. In that case, you can undergo ALIF surgery to alleviate pain, like Tiger Woods’ back fusion surgery performed by Dr. Richard Guyer. Contact us today!
