Spine surgery has continued to undergo numerous improvements in a bid to make it both effective and safe. Some of the conditions that may require this form of intervention include spinal stenosis (narrowing), intervertebral disc prolapse, and body spurs causing compression of spinal nerves. Less invasive techniques are now preferred over the traditional more open methods. If they intend to undergo minimally invasive spine surgery long island residents need to understand a number of things first.
The first step is to have a proper diagnosis made. Not all forms of back pain would be subjected to surgery and so it is important to establish whether a particular case meets the criteria. Your doctor will ask you a few questions related to your condition and will also examine your back and limbs in a bid to establish the exact nature of your illness. Imaging studies such as the MRI and CT scan will also be needed in most cases.
It is important that you discuss with your doctor the merits and demerits of the available options. You should make a section to undergo the surgery only after you have understood what is involved. Preparing for the procedure is the same as any other operation. For instance, one has to stop smoking for sometime. There may be a need to also discontinue the use of some potentially harmful drugs such as blood thinners.
The main distinguishing feature of this method is that the skin incisions made are a lot smaller than what is seen with the traditional approach. Through these incisions, instruments can be inserted and used to perform the corrective procedure. Procedures performed in this manner can be broadly classified as spinal decompression or fusion.
Spinal fusion is a technique that is employed when the vertebral column is unstable for one reason or the other. The instability may result in problems in walking or other symptoms such as excessive back pain. The idea here is to join together two or more adjacent vertebral bodies so as to minimize excessive movement between them.
There are two main types of anaesthesia that can be used; general and regional. General anaesthesia is used for procedures that are in the chest and neck regions while regionally anaesthesia is used if the problem is below the chest on the vertebral column. The advantage of regional anaesthesia is that one remains awake throughout.
While this operation is fairly safe, it is not devoid of complications. The chances of getting these complications is, however, much lower than with the open technique. Pain is experienced by almost all candidates of the operation but the degree is variable. Fortunately, the pain is minimal and reduces progressively over time except in a few instances. Infections are also a possibility and have to be prevented by use of prophylactic antibiotics. Others include excessive bleeding and nerve injuries.
The time needed for recovery is largely dependent on the type of surgery that is done. On average, it is a lot shorter than what is seen with the open technique. Most patients are allowed home the same day or within two days. This is as compared to the traditional surgical operation in which the average is five days. Physical therapy is highly recommended as it expedites the healing process. Return to regular routine may take a few weeks or months.
The first step is to have a proper diagnosis made. Not all forms of back pain would be subjected to surgery and so it is important to establish whether a particular case meets the criteria. Your doctor will ask you a few questions related to your condition and will also examine your back and limbs in a bid to establish the exact nature of your illness. Imaging studies such as the MRI and CT scan will also be needed in most cases.
It is important that you discuss with your doctor the merits and demerits of the available options. You should make a section to undergo the surgery only after you have understood what is involved. Preparing for the procedure is the same as any other operation. For instance, one has to stop smoking for sometime. There may be a need to also discontinue the use of some potentially harmful drugs such as blood thinners.
The main distinguishing feature of this method is that the skin incisions made are a lot smaller than what is seen with the traditional approach. Through these incisions, instruments can be inserted and used to perform the corrective procedure. Procedures performed in this manner can be broadly classified as spinal decompression or fusion.
Spinal fusion is a technique that is employed when the vertebral column is unstable for one reason or the other. The instability may result in problems in walking or other symptoms such as excessive back pain. The idea here is to join together two or more adjacent vertebral bodies so as to minimize excessive movement between them.
There are two main types of anaesthesia that can be used; general and regional. General anaesthesia is used for procedures that are in the chest and neck regions while regionally anaesthesia is used if the problem is below the chest on the vertebral column. The advantage of regional anaesthesia is that one remains awake throughout.
While this operation is fairly safe, it is not devoid of complications. The chances of getting these complications is, however, much lower than with the open technique. Pain is experienced by almost all candidates of the operation but the degree is variable. Fortunately, the pain is minimal and reduces progressively over time except in a few instances. Infections are also a possibility and have to be prevented by use of prophylactic antibiotics. Others include excessive bleeding and nerve injuries.
The time needed for recovery is largely dependent on the type of surgery that is done. On average, it is a lot shorter than what is seen with the open technique. Most patients are allowed home the same day or within two days. This is as compared to the traditional surgical operation in which the average is five days. Physical therapy is highly recommended as it expedites the healing process. Return to regular routine may take a few weeks or months.
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