What is spine surgery?
Spine surgery is sometimes necessary for patients with back or neck injuries or diseases. It’s typically one of the last options, unless you need emergency surgery, as there are less invasive treatments that can resolve most cases of back and neck pain.
Conservative measures such as physical therapy, medication, and steroid injections are often very successful. If they aren't enough to relieve your pain, the expert surgeons at CarePoint Neurosurgery and Spine can discuss available spine surgery options.
What conditions can spine surgery treat?
Spine surgery can be effective in treating numerous back and neck conditions, including:
- Degenerative disc disease
- Herniated discs
- Cervical radiculopathy
- Myelopathy
- Spinal stenosis
- Sciatica
- Spondylosis
- Spondylolisthesis
- Spinal cord compression
- Scoliosis
You might also require surgery for spinal trauma or a rare disorder of the spine.
How is spine surgery performed?
CarePoint Neurosurgery and Spine specializes in using minimally invasive methods when performing spine surgery. These methods cause significantly less tissue damage than traditional open surgery, offering advantages such as:
- Less pain
- Reduced blood loss
- Lower risk of damage to surrounding tissue
- Decreased risk of complications
- Lower risk of infection
- Less scarring or internal scar tissue
- Shorter hospital stay
- Speedier recovery
Minimally invasive spine surgery uses retractors, instruments that ease muscles and soft tissue out of the way to avoid cutting the flesh.
Your surgeon may also use a laparoscope, a slim, flexible tube that has a light and a miniature camera on its end. Your surgeon views the images sent back by the camera to perform the operation.
CarePoint Neurosurgery and Spine also has access to advanced robotic surgery systems like the ROSA ONE® Brain, which is capable of greater precision and dexterity than the human hand.
What types of spine surgery might I need?
There are numerous types of spine surgery. CarePoint Neurosurgery and Spine uses cutting-edge techniques and state-of-the-art technologies to optimize your spine surgery results.
Artificial disc replacement
Artificial disc replacement involves removing a damaged disc and replacing it with a prosthetic disc. The team uses the most advanced replacement discs, like prodisc® and the activL® artificial disc, which mimic your spine’s natural movement.
Augmented reality guidance system
The xvision™ system is the only surgical augmented reality guidance system with FDA clearance. The CarePoint Neurosurgery and Spine surgeons were some of the first to use this device.
For more information about spine surgery or to discuss your persistent back or neck pain, call CarePoint Neurosurgery and Spine to book an appointment today.
