Types Of Back Surgery
There are a number of different types of spine surgery to treat a variety of back conditions. Surgery should be considered if a patient has a significant neurological deficit, or if non-surgical therapy fails to alleviate the pain. Regarding the role of surgery for failed medical therapy in patients without a neurological deficit, a review concluded that ‘limited evidence is now available to support some aspects of surgical practice’. An MRI scan is an essential component of diagnostic evaluation. The ongoing Spine Patient outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) is addressing the role of surgery .
Some of the more common forms of surgery are:
Discectomy/microdiscectomy: usually used to treat pain (especially pain that radiates down the arm or leg) from spinal disc herniations.
Spinal fusion: usually to treat chronic, severe pain from degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, or deformity, such as from scoliosis.
Artificial disc replacement: a relatively new form of surgery in the U.S. but has been in use in Europe for decades, primarily used to treat low back pain from a degenerated disc.
Kyphoplasty and Vertebroplasty: minimally invasive procedures designed to treat pain from osteoporotic compression fractures and sometimes other forms of fracture, such as a fracture caused by certain types of cancer.
Spinal cord stimulation: where an electrical device is used to interrupt the pain signals being sent to the brain.
Laminectomy: to relieve spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) or nerve compression
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