Many patients with spine problems can be treated non-surgically. Physical therapy, home exercises, medication and oftentimes spinal injections are recommended prior to considering surgery. If the problem still isn’t resolved, then surgery becomes a good option.
If a patient has significant pain and non-surgical management has not provided relief, surgical intervention is the best decision.
Diskectomy : Surgery to remove all or part of your disk
Foraminotomy : Surgery to widen the opening in your back where nerve roots leave your spinal column
Laminectomy : Surgery to remove the lamina, two small bones that make up a vertebra, or bone spurs in your back, to take pressure off your spinal nerves or spinal column.
Spinal fusion : The fusing of two bones together in your back to correct problems in your spine
In minimally invasive spine surgery we surgically expose less of the anatomy. We often use additional surgical aids, such as intraoperative spinal navigation. This provides the surgeon greater visibility into surgical areas with limited exposure. We want our procedures to result in less blood loss, shorter hospital stays, lower infection rates and faster recovery in the weeks following surgery. Minimally invasive surgery typically results in an easier recovery process for patients.
Some of the most common minimally invasive spine procedures we perform are the Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion (LLIF) and Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIS TLIF) and percutaneous instrumentation.
You were in the hospital for spine surgery. You probably had a problem with one or more disks. A disk is a cushion that separates the bones in your spine (vertebrae).
Recovery after diskectomy is usually quick.
After a diskectomy or foraminotomy, you may still feel pain, numbness, or weakness along the path of the nerve that was under pressure. These symptoms should get better in a few weeks
Recovery after laminectomy and fusion surgery is longer. You will not be able to return to activities as quickly. It takes at least 3 to 4 months after surgery for bones to heal well, and healing may continue for at least a year.
If you had spinal fusion, you will probably be off work for 4 to 6 weeks if you are young and healthy and your job is not very strenuous. It may take 4 to 6 months for older people with more extensive surgery to get back to work.
Length of recovery also depends on how bad your condition was before surgery.
We strive to help patients by giving expert surgical opinions, and when surgery is not needed, we help them navigate other appropriate options by connecting them with the appropriate spine care provider for their unique problem.