Why Tiger Woods Underwent Fusion Surgery
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Tiger Woods fusion surgery, also well-known as ALIF surgery, is an effective spinal procedure performed to treat various spinal disorders. These include herniated discs, degenerated discs, spinal fractures, scoliosis, sciatic pain, and severe spasms in the lumbar spine.
Sometimes, the intervertebral discs in the spine can lose their elasticity, flexibility, and shock-absorbing characteristics. The hard layer of ligaments surrounding the intervertebral disc may weaken and lose the gel-like substance in the center.
Thus, the condition known as disc degeneration can cause discomfort, inflammation, and pain in the surrounding area. Sometimes, the pain radiates from the lumbar spine through the buttocks into the legs, leading to sciatica.
Tiger Woods Fusion Surgery
Tiger Woods is the most famous golf player in the world. Woods have won many tournaments and made records throughout his career. However, Woods have also sustained a wide range of golf-related injuries, including back pain.
Woods experienced back pain for the first time in 2010 due to a tingling sensation down his right side. In 2014, Woods suffered from a herniated disc and underwent microdiscectomy surgery to relieve his back pain.
In 2015, Woods underwent another microdiscectomy surgery to reduce the discomfort and pain in his back. Woods’ surgeon performed a follow-up surgery to stabilize his spine in the same year.
Although Woods had relieved his back pain after three surgeries, he soon experienced lumbar spine spasms and pain radiating from his lower back to the legs. Woods took medications and performed physical therapy exercises to cope with the situation.
However, these treatments did not relieve his lumbar spine pain and sciatica. Woods’ surgeon advised him to undergo ALIF surgery. It requires the surgeon to approach the damaged spinal area from the front.
Woods orthopedic surgeon recommended ALIF surgery because the champion golfer had previously undergone surgeries posteriorly. So, it was impossible to perform another operation posteriorly because Woods’ spine had become too narrow.
Doing so would have led to various complications, including permanent disability. That’s Woods’ surgeon recommended ALIF surgery. During the procedure, the surgeon approached the damaged disc from the front.
The surgeon removed the disc and placed a bone graft material enclosed in a cage. Next, the surgeon secured the cage with screws and rods. Tiger Woods Fusion Surgery was a success that allowed him to come back to professional golf. Thanks to ALIF surgery, Woods won the 2019’s Masters’ tournament.
Benefits of Tiger Woods Fusion Surgery
ALIF surgery is an advanced technique, allowing the surgeon to approach the spine from the front. The surgeon performs the procedure through the patient’s abdomen. A neurosurgeon and vascular surgeon work together to carry out the operation.
The vascular surgeon moves the major blood vessels, and the neurosurgeon removes the disc to relieve the pressure on the nerves. The neurosurgeon then places a large cage in the space and secures it with screws and rods to provide extra spinal stability.
According to MINT’s neurosurgeons, ALIF is a well-tolerated spinal procedure, leading to reduced pain and faster rehabilitation than other fusion surgeries. Not only does this technique allow a neurosurgeon to place a much larger cage, but it also leads to more stability and increases the chances of fusion.
Moreover, Tiger Woods Fusion Surgery allows for better correction of spinal imbalance and deformity. Our board-certified neurosurgeons at MINT perform ALIF surgery with a minimally invasive technique to treat various conditions, such as instability, spinal imbalance, deformity, disc degeneration, scoliosis, and spondylolisthesis.
Furthermore, ALIF surgery does not damage the surrounding muscles, tissues, and nerves. Thus, it reduces the risk of infections and other complications, allowing the patient to experience less post-operative pain. So, a minimally invasive ALIF procedure is a much better approach than other fusion surgeries like PLIF, TLIF, XLIF, etc.
Why Choose MINT for ALIF Surgery
People with severe back pain prefer MINT for numerous reasons. For instance, MINT has board-certified, experienced, and skilled neurosurgeons with an excellent track record. The clinic’s success rate is above 98%. Dr. Scott Kutz, the founder of MINT and a board-certified neurosurgeon, performs minimally invasive ALIF surgery to treat a wide range of spinal conditions.
Besides, MINT has a team of qualified neurosurgeons and vascular surgeons who work collaboratively to perform successful surgeries. MINT, Plano, TX, has a state-of-the-art facility equipped with cutting-edge technological tools that allow our neurosurgeons to perform all kinds of surgeries, including ALIF surgeries effectively.
If you have severe back pain and conservative treatments have failed to relieve it, you can undergo minimally invasive surgery and achieve excellent results similar to Tiger Woods Fusion Surgery. Contact us today!
