MedTech Outlook | Monday, July 5th, 2021
A pain management professional will help patients decide whether surgery is the right choice after making sure they have exhausted all other options.
FREMONT, CA: Most lower back problems can be treated without surgery. Back surgery is sometimes the best choice for treating severe musculoskeletal injuries or nerve compression. After patients have tried all other options, a pain management professional can help them determine whether surgery is the best option.
When is spinal surgery necessary?
When someone visits a hospital with severe symptoms, health care providers almost always recommend seeing their GP first. Regardless of whether a patient has back pain or neck pain, health care providers usually monitor them over time and advise them to maintain a healthy, steady level of physical activity to see if the problem resolves on its own. If exercise, over-the-counter or pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs do not improve the situation, patients should see a doctor for evaluation.
Many patients with spinal problems or injuries can be treated without surgery. Before thinking about an operation, physically Therapy, homework, medication, and in some cases, spinal injections are often recommended. The next step will be surgery if these alternative therapies aren’t enough.
Main Types of Back Surgery
The most popular types of back surgery are listed below. Under each of these surgical categories there are different types of treatment for an individual patient.
Discectomy
A discectomy (also known as a microdiscectomy, percutaneous discectomy, lumbar discectomy, disc surgery, or decompression surgery) is a procedure designed to relieve the discomfort caused by pressure on the nerve root or spinal cord, often caused by a herniated disc. A discectomy removes the damaged section of the disc that puts pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.
Laminectomy
A laminectomy is a type of back surgery used to treat spinal cord compression. The doctor removes the lamina during the operation. The lamina is a bone in the spine that forms the vertebral arch. The doctor will also remove bone spurs. The spinal cord or nerve roots can be compressed by these structures.
Vertebroplasty / kyphoplasty
Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are minimally invasive spine surgeries used to treat pain and other symptoms associated with vertebral compression fractures. Osteoporosis, or bone weakening, is the most common cause of vertebral compression fractures (compression fractures of the spine). Almost every operation is performed on an outpatient basis.
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