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Offering a gentle arthroscopic alternative to spinal fusion surgery, laser surgery can be used to help alleviate pain in the lumbar (lower), thoracic (upper) and in the cervical (neck) sections of the spine.
Spinal fusion surgery is a technique that is used to “fuse” one or more of the vertebrae in the spine together. This spinal fusion will eliminate the motion that is causing the patient his or her pain. Bone grafts from other areas, usually the hip, are then placed around the spine and secured with screws and plates during the spinal fusion therapy. The grafts are slowly healed by the body over the next few months, which similar to healing a fractured bone. The healing of the graft joins the vertebrae together immobilizing that segment. Most often spinal fusion surgery is recommended for patients suffering from degenerative disc disease and spondylolisthesis.
Now that you know a little about spinal fusion surgery let’s look at some of the problems that may occur:
- Spinal fusion recovery is long and painful
- Close to 25% of spinal fusion grafts will not take and it becomes necessary for another spinal fusion surgery to be preformed
- Spinal fusion surgery and other conventional surgeries will not alleviate the pain and symptoms 50% of the time
- Other conditions may develop down the road as a result of spinal fusion surgery
When spinal fusion surgery is performed there is a loss of mobility in that particular region of the spine. Because the spine is very mobile when you fuse vertebrae together you cause extreme wear and tear on the vertebrae and discs above and below the area fused. This wear and tear occurs because after spinal fusion your vertebrae above and below the fusion are trying to compensate for this lack of mobility. The lack of mobility caused by spinal fusion surgery can cause new herniated disc, bone spurs, foraminal narrowing and spinal stenosis to form. A spinal fusion cannot be reversed, making it possible for a patient to feel a new lifetime of spine problems and spinal surgeries.
An increasing problem is that spinal fusion surgery is often performed when the patient does not need it. The pain and symptoms that degenerative disc disease causes revolve around nerve impingement and often does not require spinal fusion surgery.
A Percuteaneous Arthroscopic Discectomy is a minimally invasive procedure that can be used to relieve the pressure within the disc, alleviating the pain and thus the patient does not require spinal fusion surgery. Unlike spinal fusion surgery where the spinal fusion recovery starts with the patient being required to stay in the hospital for two or three days of monitoring, with the percuteaneous arthroscopic discectomy a patient is allowed to leave on their own accord after just two to three hours after the procedure. With this spinal fusion alternative the patient will not experience any negative disadvantages that other treatments such as spinal fusion surgery entail. Unlike conventional surgery where the muscles and tissue are torn and cut minimally invasive procedures gently push the muscles and tissues out of the way without cutting or tearing them leading to much less problematic scar tissue.