Ask a Spine Surgeon Online

A surgeon who performs spine surgeries is called a spine surgeon. Majority of back problems can be treated non-surgically, but if all other treatment modalities have failed, spine surgery might be your only option. Traditionally, spine surgeries were performed as open surgery, but with technological advancements, spine conditions are treated with minimally invasive techniques nowadays. As minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) does not require long incisions and open manipulation of the surrounding tissues and muscles, the operative and healing time is reduced considerably.

A spine surgeon can perform any of the following spine surgery to help you with your spine problem:

• Spinal fusion – It is the most common spine surgery. It is done in cases of nonspecific back pain with degenerative changes. Your surgeon will join (fuse) your vertebrae together.

• Laminectomy – This surgery is indicated for lumbar spinal stenosis. Here, the surgeon removes a part of the bone, bone spurs, or ligament from your back.

• Foraminotomy – This surgery is used to relieve pain caused due to nerve compression in the spine. The surgeon widens the foramen, that is, the hole in the bone from where the nerve exits the spine.

• Diskectomy – It is a surgical procedure to remove a herniated disc from the spine.

• Disk replacement – instead of spinal fusion, the surgeon removes the damaged spinal disk and inserts an artificial disk in your vertebrae.

• Interlaminar implant – It a minimally invasive method, where the surgeon inserts a U-shaped device between the vertebrae in your lower back. It increases the space between two vertebrae and relieves pressure on the nerves.

The benefits of spine surgery are better mobility, more physical fitness, and no need to take painkillers, thus improving your quality of life. To know more about various spinal surgeries, talk to spine surgeons online through a video or phone consultation.