Surgery can adequately correct only a fraction of all back problems. The key is to become educated on your diagnosis, to get more than one opinion and to make sure you know all the facts including risks before you elect for surgery. Keep in mind that even if you do elect for surgery, it is no substitute for a lifelong program of back care following the surgery.

There are two types of back surgery: decompression and stabilization. Decompression may be used on a patient with a disc pressing on a nerve or a nerve being impinged by bone, both of which can have neurological effects. Usually these types of problems are caused by a bulging disc or a herniation of the disc which is pressing on a nerve. Stabilization or spinal fusion is performed to eliminate spinal weakness.

Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF)
Patients who are suffering from back and/or leg pain are potential candidates for the ALIF procedure. This pain is generally caused by the natural degeneration of the disc space.

Laminectomy
Laminectomy is an operation performed on the lower spine to relieve pressure on one or more nerve roots. The term is derived from lamina (part of the spinal canal's bony roof), and -ectomy (removal).

Lumbar Microsurgery
Lumbar microdiscectomy is an operation on the lumbar spine performed using a surgical microscope and microsurgical techniques.

Minimally Invasive Lumbar Laminotomy / Discectomy
This type of surgery creates a small tunnel through the muscles in the back down to the area where the herniated disc is located. In comparison, an open discectomy involves a much larger incision and also involves stripping the muscles away from the spinal column so that the surgeon can see the area where the herniated disc is located.

Spinal Fusion
A spinal fusion is simply the uniting of two bony segments, whether a fracture or a vertebral joint.

Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF)
Patients who are suffering from back and/or leg pain are potential candidates for the TLIF procedure. The causes of the pain may range from a natural degeneration of the disc space to some type of traumatic event.

The latest techniques like Minimally invasive spine surgery, Expandable devices for Lumbar Spine Fusion are routinely carried out with results at par with the best centers globally.

Conventional Spine surgery involves taking long incisions, forceful muscle retraction for prolonged time, removal of normal tissues like ligaments and bone to approach area of pathology. Most of the times these surgeries are done under prolonged general anesthesia.

This long incisions and injury to normal structures results in

• Increased blood loss
• Increased scar tissue formation
• Increased chance of neural injury
• Epidural scarring
• Denervation of paraspinal muscles

All these cause increased morbidity and failed surgery syndrome. Since many times patients require to stay in bed for long duration of time, and there is also loss of work, earning , patients tend to avoid surgery and prefer to suffer pain and disability. Now there is hope for all these suffering population, in the form of minimal invasive spine surgery.

Minimal Invasive spine surgery involves

• use of very small incisions,
• minimal muscle retraction,
• less normal tissue damage
• targeted treatment of pathology.

Advantages:-

• Many surgeries are done under local anesthesia, hence surgeries can be done even in patients with high risk of anesthesia.
• There is less blood loss.
• minimal morbidity.
• Patient can be mobilized very early and he can be back to work faster.
• It prevents complications associated with prolonged bed rest.

Since normal tissues are not removed or damaged, post operative pain is less and also there is less chance of failed back syndrome.

Our team of expert Neurologists and Neurosurgeons are supported by the most extensive Neuro-diagnostic and imaging facilities including Asia's most advanced MRI and CT technology. Along with providing general diagnostic X-ray imaging, Wockhardt Brain and Spine Hospital offers you a magnitude of imaging services like EEG, EMG, Sensation 10 CT Scanner, Functional MRI with Spectroscopy, OPMI Multivision etc.

Write to us and see the difference........