What is Spinal Surgeries?
Back pain is one of the most common concerns nowadays. Most of the lower back pain is usually treated with medications, rest, physical therapy, and other alternatives.
However, in the case of severe pain and worsening of back conditions, spine surgery is recommended.
What are different types of Spine Surgeries ?
Spinal fusion
This is one of the most common spine or back surgery for chronic pain.
In this procedure, the surgeon will connect two vertebrae. This will restrict the motion between them.
The motion will be limited, but that will not impact your activities. Two bones are fused to grow in a single solid bone.
If you are considering spine fusion, then avoid smoking as it will hamper your healing process.
Laminectomy
Mostly used for lumbar spinal stenosis. In this procedure, the affected bone or its portion is removed. This will result in relieving the pressure on spinal nerves and reduce weakness or pain.
Foraminotomy
This surgery helps relieve pain that is associated with a compressed nerve in the spine.
The surgeon will cut the affected bone away at the sides of your vertebrae for widening the space at the nerves exit of your spine.
This will relieve nerve pressure and reduce your pain. Like laminectomy, this treatment can also make your spine less stable.
So, the surgeon may be required to do a spinal fusion at the same time. This will increase the amount of recovery time.
Diskectomy
Sometimes the reason or cause for back pain is the slip of the cushion that is separating your two vertebrae.
In a discectomy procedure, the surgeon will remove the affected disk or its part by making an incision.
Nowadays most surgical treatments are done using small incisions with the help of a microscope. This process is called Microdiscectomy. This procedure has become common for lumbar disc herniation.
Discectomy could be a part of large surgeries such as Spinal Fusion, Foraminotomy, or Laminectomy.
Interlaminar Implant
This is one of the common minimally invasive surgeries and an alternative to Laminectomy plus fusion surgery or Laminectomy.
In this procedure, a U-shaped device is placed in between the two vertebrae in the lower back part of your body.
It maintains the desired space and eases the nerves resulting in pain reduction. The device placed is more flexible and allows spine stability.
Disk Replacement
In Lumbar Disc Replacement Surgery, the surgeon will remove the damaged or injured spinal disc and replace it with an artificial disc. Unlike fusion, this surgery allows you to continue your spine movement.
Recovery time might be less than for a spinal fusion, but there is a slight risk that the new disk could fall out or slip off requiring a repair.
Minimally Invasive Surgery
Generally, spine surgical procedures are carried out as 'open surgery'. Meaning that the treatment area is opened making a large incision for viewing and accessing the anatomy.
However, due to technological advancements, many minimal invasive alternative procedures are introduced today. MIS Lumbar Fusion and Discectomy are some of the examples.
What are Procedures of Spine Surgeries ?
In open surgery, large incisions of approx. five to six inches are made. Then, to view the spine muscles are kept in the side. The surgeon thus easily carries out the removal and replacement process as per the requirement.
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MISS) is sometimes also known as less invasive spine surgery.
In these procedures, surgeons use specialized instruments for assessing the spine by making smaller incisions. Besides, small cuts, less blood loss, and shorter hospital stay are the advantages of MISS.
General or regional anesthesia as per the requirements is given to the patient during the minimally invasive fusion or decompression procedures.
What is the Post surgery care of Spine Surgeries ?
If you have taken minimally invasive procedures then hospital stay will be shorter. Hospital stay will vary from individual to individual.
Generally, 1 or 2 days of hospital stay is required in MISS while in the case of traditional or open surgery it may take 3 to 5 days.
After the surgery, you may feel some discomfort or pain. This will be reduced and controlled through medications.
Physical therapy is started after the surgery. This helps in the speedy recovery and gaining some muscle strength.
In the case of spinal fusion surgery, it may take months to grow the fused bones to grow into a single bone.
