Back surgery when is it necessary

Hepler is a trusted orthopedic spine surgeon that offers expertise in both surgical and non-surgical treatments of spine-related ailments. With over 17 years of experience, he provides individualized care to every patient. Start living a back pain-free life! Contact us to learn more and schedule a consultation. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

Do You Need Back Surgery? Sign 2: The Pain Radiates to Your Arms and Legs When you have a back ache accompanied by arm and leg pain, you are experiencing radiculopathy or simply, radiating pain. Sign 3: Severe Symptoms and Trauma When back pain and associated symptoms are caused by an emergency and trauma, a spine surgeon will typically decide to perform surgery right away. Related posts:. Looking for a spine surgeon? Dural tear: If surgery disrupts the protective covering over the spinal cord and nerves, you could have a dural tear.

Surgeons may detect and repair a dural tear during surgery, and most tears heal without an issue. If the tear does not heal properly, you may experience headaches from leaking spinal fluid. Lung issues: If you undergo general anesthesia, you may experience temporary lung function issues following the surgery. Exercising your lungs before and after surgery is helpful to promote optimal function and recovery. Infection: Spinal surgeries have a low infection rate, but it is possible.

If the incision site becomes infected, the infection can spread to the spinal cord and vertebrae. Many doctors will prescribe antibiotics before surgery to help prevent infection, especially if your surgery involves metal hardware or a bone graft.

Hardware malfunction: Many spinal surgeries use screws, rods and plates to help vertebrae heal in proper alignment. If one of these hardware pieces breaks or moves before the bone has a chance to heal, you may need another surgery to correct it. In worst-case scenarios, surgery may increase your pain. Sexual dysfunction: The spinal cord and nerves transmit signals throughout your body. You may experience sexual dysfunction if surgery damages the nerves near your pelvic region. Transitional syndrome: In a healthy spine, all the vertebrae work together to distribute the load from your body.

After back surgery, vertebrae adjacent to the problematic ones may take on an uneven load while the spine heals. This issue could accelerate wear in the nearby vertebrae and cause pain.

Pseuodoarthrosis: If you undergo a spinal fusion surgery and your vertebrae do not successfully fuse, you may have continued pain from pseudoarthrosis. You may require additional surgery to fix this condition if it does not heal or worsens over time. Spinal Surgery Success Rates As mentioned before, several factors impact spinal surgery success rates. Thoracic Spine Surgery Success Rate The thoracic spine is in the middle of the spine, between the abdomen and upper back.

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Success Rate A surgeon might use minimally invasive spine surgery MIS to stabilize vertebrae and spinal joints or relieve pressure on spinal nerves. You may qualify for MIS if you have one of the following conditions : Degenerative disc disease Compression fractures A herniated disc Lumbar spinal stenosis Scoliosis Spinal infections A spinal tumor Spondylolisthesis There are several types of MIS procedures, depending on where a surgeon makes their incision.

Herniated Disc Surgery Success Rate Herniated discs are common in the lumbar spine , but they may also occur in the cervical spine near the neck.

Microdiscectomy: This procedure is common for herniated lumbar discs. Microdiscectomies remove the herniated portion of a disc underneath the nerve root to give it more space, relieve pressure and promote root healing. Discectomy: A discectomy is common for herniated cervical discs. Back Surgery Most pain in the lower back can be treated without surgery. When should I consider back surgery? According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases NIAMS , part of the National Institutes of Health NIH , the following conditions may be candidates for surgical treatment: Herniated or ruptured disks, in which one or more of the disks that cushion the bones of the spine are damaged Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column that puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerves Spondylolisthesis, in which one or more bones in the spine slip out of place Vertebral fractures caused by injury to the bones in the spine or by osteoporosis Degenerative disk disease, or damage to spinal disks as a person gets older In rare cases, back pain is caused by a tumor, an infection, or a nerve root problem called cauda equina syndrome.

What are some types of back surgery? These procedures are used to repair compression fractures of the vertebrae caused by osteoporosis. Both procedures include the injection of a glue-like bone cement that hardens and strengthens the bone.

This is performed when spinal stenosis causes a narrowing of the spinal canal that results in pain, numbness, or weakness. The surgeon removes the bony walls of the vertebrae and any bone spurs, aiming to open up the spinal column to remove pressure on the nerves.

This procedure is used to remove a disk when it has herniated and presses on a nerve root or the spinal cord. Laminectomy and discectomy are frequently performed together. In this procedure, the surgeon enlarges the bony hole where a nerve root exits the spinal canal to prevent bulging disks or joints thickened with age from pressing on the nerve. Nucleoplasty, also called plasma disk decompression.

Spinal instrumentation pedicle screws are placed into the vertebrae to stabilize the motion segment and assist with the fusion process. This allows the surgeon to perform a spinal fusion without disrupting the muscles of the spine. The LLIF procedure may be accompanied by another procedure that is fairly common, percutaneous instrumentation of the spine.

In this procedure, the surgeon places rods and screws between the muscle fibers, often using computer navigation or intraoperative X-ray as opposed to removing the muscles from the spine as is done with traditional spinal fusion surgery. When possible, we seek to utilize a minimally invasive approach, if it is an appropriate option. We strive to help patients by giving expert surgical opinions, and when surgery is not needed, we help them navigate other appropriate options by connecting them with the appropriate spine care provider for their unique problem.

Our doctors are publishing the papers and teaching the courses that other doctors around the country are learning from; we are often the first to perform groundbreaking spine procedures and teach other doctors how to perform them.

Patients who come to Penn benefit from a multidisciplinary team approach and gain access to the full breadth of care from our doctors and surgeons who are world leaders in quality improvement and risk mitigation reducing risks for patients. Our spine team has the ability to handle every spine issue from the very simple to the extremely complex, seamlessly, all within the same health system.

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