Spine Surgery
Back pain is one of the most common health problems prevalent among a large number of people around the world. Continuously sitting for long hours, lack of exercise and unhealthy working habits are some of the most common causes of back pain. Typically, back pain is treated with simple medications or exercises. It is only when all this fails and quality of life is severely affected that the doctors recommend spine surgery to treat severe and prolonged back pain condition.
Usually, doctors recommend surgery as a treatment option for spinal problems after several months of all other treatment, which fail to provide any relief to the patient’s back problem. There are different kinds of spinal surgeries that the doctors may recommend after thoroughly assessing your health condition. Some of the most common types of spine surgery are listed below:
Foraminotomy
This type of surgical procedure involves removing the tissues that compress the nerves in the back. During the surgery process, the surgeons removes parts of the bone that constricts the nerves in the spinal column. As stability of the spine is sometimes affected, a procedure called spinal fusion is also done.
Laminectomy
This of the most widely recommended type of spine surgery for spinal conditions caused by spondylolisthesis and stenosis. The surgery involves removing parts of the back bone, to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves. The surgery is usually performed in combination with spine fusion surgery when instability of spine is suspected.
Spinal disc replacement
Although this surgical procedure is not very common, it is applied as one of the new surgical treatments for back pain. An artificial disc is used to replace the damaged spinal disc, which is present between the vertebrae. this surgery permits continued spine mobility and can be done without spine fusion.
Discectomy
It is a type of spine surgery that is used to treat the herniated disc in the vertebrae. A disc separates two vertebrae and if it herniates inwards it presses on the spinal nerves causing pain. In discectomy all or part of the disc is removed.