SPINE SURGERY

This surgery is performed to remove a herniated or degenerative disc which is compressing the nerves or spinal cord in the cervical spine. The surgeon reaches the damaged disc from the front (anterior) of the spine through the throat area. By moving aside the neck muscles, trachea, and esophagus, the disc and bony vertebrae are exposed. After the disc is removed, the space between the bony vertebrae is empty. To prevent the vertebrae from collapsing and rubbing together, a spacer bone graft is inserted to fill the open disc space. The bone graft and vertebrae are fixed in place with metal plates and screws. The graft serves as a bridge between the two vertebrae to create a spinal fusion. Read More

One of the most common surgeries in the cervical spine is ¨discectomy¨ (removal of a disc), which usually is performed to decompress the spinal cord or nerve roots. When the disc is removed, traditionally it is replaced with a graft to fuse this segment of the spine, leading to immobilization of this part of the spine. This immobile segment may cause problems in the future. For his reason, several years ago the artificial disc replacement (ADR) was created to preserve movement in the disc that was removed. There are different options for implants to provide dynamic stabilization of the cervical spine including artificial disc replacement and dynamic cervical implant.Read More

Scoliosis: Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine that can occur in any age group. Scoliosis is a coronal plane (i.e. side to side) deformity occurring in children, adolescents, and adults. Symptoms vary with age of onset and severity of the curvature; cosmetic problems including sitting imbalance, breathing difficulty or delayed development is common findings in infants and young children. A rib hump, pelvic or shoulder height imbalance tend to common in the adolescent group. Intractable back pain, sciatica, leg weakness or numbness and gait difficulty are common reasons for surgical correction in adults.

Kyphosis: Kyphosis is seen when a person’s spinal balance has moved too far forward to allow the spine to effectively carry the body weight without progressive deformity, pain or neurologic loss of function. Patients typically walk in a forward flexed posture being unable to stand up straight. This condition can also occur along with scoliosis causing Kyphoscoliosis.Read More

A lumbar microdiscectomy is a surgical procedure in which a small portion of the bone over the nerve root and disc material from under the nerve root is removed to relieve the neural impingement that is causing leg pain and provide more room for the nerve to heal. Only the portions of the disc material contributing to leg pain are removed, not the entire disc.Read More

A lumbar laminectomy is a surgical procedure designed to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves by widening the spinal canal. During a lumbar laminectomy, a small section of the bony roof of the spine, the lamina, is removed to create more space for the nerves. A surgeon may perform a lumbar laminectomy with or without fusing vertebrae (lumbar spinal fusion) or removing part of a disc (lumbar microdiscectomy). Partial laminectomy is usually used to treat lumbar spinal stenosis.Read More

Lumbar spinal fusion refers to back surgery during which two or more vertebral segments of the spine are fused together. Lumbar spine fusion surgery involves using bone graft to cause two vertebral bodies to grow together into one combined bone complex. Lumbar spinal fusion can be done in the front or the back of the spine and frequently involves the use of hardware. The goal of lumbar fusion surgery is to relieve pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness, restore nerve function, stop or prevent abnormal motion in the spine, and provide more space for the decompressed spinal cord and nerve roots to heal.Read More

A variety of spinal tumors may occur in the spine. They may originate in the spinal cord itself, the spinal roots, the dural sac which surrounds the spinal cord, or the vertebrae (bones). They may be primary—originating from the spine or spinal cord—or metastatic, originating elsewhere. Surgery for a spinal tumor is generally indicated for progressive motor weakness or loss of bowel or bladder control of short duration. In addition, surgery may be required in situations where the spine has become unstable because of the tumor. Lastly, surgery may be the only available intervention for some tumors that are insensitive to radiation or chemotherapRead More