Before signing up for back surgery, your doctor must have tried all the possible treatments to ease your back pain. However, you must know what are the benefits of back surgery, what are its various types and what are the cons related to it.
Let us first know different kinds of spine surgery.
Spinal fusion
It is the commonest type for back pain in which doctor join spinal bones together. It limits the motion between them and also controls how far you can stretch your nerves. It won’t limit your activity, but it is not guaranteed that bones will fuse.
Laminectomy
If one needs to relieve pressure on spinal nerves, a private spinal surgeon in Britain may recommend for Laminectomy where the surgeon removes parts of the bone, bone spurs or ligaments in the back. It makes the spine less stable, and there are chances that the patient needs a spinal fusion. Sometimes the two processes are performed together.
Foraminotomy
In this surgery, a surgeon cuts away the sides of the vertebrae. It is done in order to widen the space at the very point from where nerves exit the spine. The extra space may relieve pressure on the nerves and lowers the pain. Like Laminectomy, the process may make less stable. Therefore, surgeons sometimes do spine fusion also. It increases the period patient need for recovery.
Diskectomy
In some cases, the disk that separates the vertebrae may slip out of the place. It presses a spinal nerve; as a result, back pain occurs. To cure this, surgeon removes all or some part of the disk. Sometimes this surgery is only a part of a major surgery.
Disk replacement
In this surgery, the damaged spinal disk is removed, and an artificial one is inserted between the vertebrae. On contrary to fusion, it let patient move his/her spine. Recovery time may be shorter than that of a spinal fusion.
Interlaminar implant
In this surgery, a U-shaped device is implanted between the two vertebrae in the lower back. It helps keeping the space between them open and as a result pressure on the spinal nerve is eased. Unlike spinal fusion, this surgery provides stability and let patient move his/her back like normal.
The biggest risk of spinal surgery is its uncertainty if it will cure the back pain or not. Consult a good surgeon to get cured.
