Spinal Fusion Alternative
Laser surgery medical procedures offer a gentle arthroscopic alternative to spinal fusions to help alleviate pain to the lower back (lumbar), upper back (thoracic) and neck (cervical).
Fusion is a conventional surgical technique in which one or more of the vertebrae of the spine are joined together ("fused") so that motion no longer occurs between them. In most instances, bone grafts from another area of the body, along with plates and screws, are placed around the spine during surgery. The body then heals the grafts over several months - similar to healing a fracture - which joins the vertebrae together. This surgery is often recommended for people with Degenerative Disc Disease and Spondylolisthesis.
Unfortunately, for the patient who has a fusion:
Minimally Invasive Alternatives
- about 25% of all grafts do not take and it is necessary for another fusion to be performed
- less than 50% of conventional surgeries, including fusions, do not alleviate the pain and symptoms
- recuperation is long and painful
- fusions may cause other spine conditions down the road
Click Here to see how you can get your life back in 5 days When you fuse an area of the spine you lose mobility in that particular region. The spine is very mobile and fusing vertebrae together causes extreme wear and tear on the vertebrae (and discs) above and below the area of the fusion because they are trying to compensate for the area that is now immobile. This can cause new herniated discs, bone spurs, foraminal narrowing and spinal stenosis. Fusions cannot be reversed, either, and some patients who have them may experience a lifetime of spine problems and surgeries.
Fusions are too often performed for people with Degenerative Disc Disease. The pain and symptoms of Degenerative Disc Disease all stem from nerve impingement.
LSI's minimally invasive procedure, called a Percuteaneous Arthroscopic Discectomy, is a simple solution to relieve the pressure within the disc which, therefore, alleviates the pain. The patient walks out of our surgical center of their own accord 2 - 3 hours after the procedure and will not experience any of the negative disadvantages that conventional surgery entails.
Cervical disc herniations(or bulging discs) that are addressed with conventional surgery not only require removal of the entire herniated disc (discectomy), but also fusion. With this procedure, the disc is removed through an incision in the front of the neck (anteriorly) and a small piece of bone is inserted in place of the disc and hardware is placed to immobilize the area of the fusion to allow the bone graft to fuse. Again, this conventional type of spine surgery may cause more problems down the road and recuperation is long and painful.
FREE - MEDICAL REVIEW AND SECOND OPINION
Fax your MRI REPORT to LSI and a qualified member of our staff will call you to discuss your condition(s) and what treatment may be effective. This review is at no cost to you, with no obligation and is kept completely confidential between you and the LSI staff. A personal consultation and/or written evaluation can only be provided if you are examined by a doctor at Laser Spine Institute, at which time there will be an appointment charge.
LSI's minimally invasive procedures can remove the portion of the disc that has herniated without removing the entire disc. These procedures alleviate all pain and symptoms associated with the herniation while leaving the healthy portion of the disc intact.
Spondylolisthesis is a slippage and/or shifting of the vertebrae out of place. Conventional surgeries require fusions with hardware and screws to shift the vertebrae back into place. However, the majority of pain and symptoms the patient experiences stem from the development of spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis or facet arthritis due to the spondylolisthesis, not the actual spondylolisthesis itself. Shifting the vertebrae back in to place is an invasive treatment for these conditions and some patients find their spine condition to be worse than before the surgery because of the fusion and hardware. LSI successfully treats the spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis and facet arthritis arthroscopically, without fusing the spine and adding hardware, because that is really where the patient's pain is coming from.
Thanks to 21st century technology and procedures performed by the medical staff at the Laser Spine Institute, there is an excellent and simple alternative to fusions, called a Laminotomy or a Foraminotomy, depending on the area of the spine that is compromised. These minimally invasive arthroscopic procedures are able to relieve the patient's pain and symptoms without fusing the spine.
The Laser Spine Institute offers various minimally invasive procedures to relieve neck and back pain caused by spinal conditions and nerve conditions. Procedures offered include Foraminotomy, Percutaneous, Discectomy, Facet Thermal Ablation, and Fusion Alternatives. After-surgery options include physical therapy sessions to help minimize the recuperation period.
Advantages of having your spinal surgeries done at the Laser Spine Institute include no general anesthesia, no hospitalization, minimally invasive surgery, minimal scar tissue formation, and the availability of outpatient procedures.