Complex spine surgery

The indications for complex spinal surgery are very specific and usually saved for the difficult cases when home exercise programs, physical therapy, pain management, and simple surgical decompression do not provide the expected relief of symptoms. Compressed nerves, painful disc degeneration and abnormal movement or alignment of the spine are examples of conditions that may be treated surgically. Recently, the introduction of new techniques has allowed patients to recover from these conditions earlier and with better pain relief than ever before.

New implants such as cages interposed between vertebrae form a latticework for new bone growth, allowing fusion across a diseased disc. Titanium implants such as rods and screws hold and stabilize the vertebrae as bone healing occurs. In some cases, surgery can be performed using new minimally invasive techniques, avoiding the large incisions and lengthy recovery times traditionally associated with sine surgery. One example is minimally invasive microdiscectomy. This procedure is performed through a small incision. Rather than separating muscle from the vertebral column, as was previously done, a small tube is placed through the incision and to the site of the diseased disc. Then, using a microscope and tiny instruments small enough to pass through the tube, only that portion of disc actually compressing nerve is removed. With minimally invasive microdiscectomy the surgical treatment of disc herniation can now be performed as an out patient procedure