DR. CHETAN WANKHEDE is Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Spine Surgeon in Thane and Mumbai.

What is spinal surgery?

Back injuries, and more specifically those of the spine, have become a problem that is affecting more and more people around the world. The passing of the years, accidents, overexertion and bad posture in everyday life are the causes of the problem.

Back surgery is an option to consider when conservative treatments have not worked and the pain remains persistent and prevents the development of a normal life.

There are several types of back surgery:

• Discectomy: This involves removing the herniated part of the disc to access the swollen nerve and relieve its irritation.
• Laminectomy: The bone covering the vertebrae is removed and enlarged to relieve pressure from a stenosis.
• Fusion: Spinal fusion consists mainly of joining two or more bones of the spine together. This can relieve pain by giving stability to a fracture or simply to eliminate the pain that begins with the movement of the vertebrae, which can degenerate or injure some of the vertebral discs.

Why is spinal surgery performed?

Spinal surgery is performed to correct spinal pathologies that cause pain. Back surgery is used to relieve the pain and/or numbness associated with this pain, which often radiates to other areas of the back, arms and legs.

Normally, back and spinal pain is caused by the compression of a nerve within it. Nerves can be compressed for several reasons. An example would be disc problems, such as a herniated disk, which can end up pressing too hard on a vertebra against the nerve. Occasionally, osteoarthritis causes excess bone in the spine.

What is spinal surgery?

There are different options for intervening on the spine. They are as follows:

Fusion

Fusion or vertebral arthrodesis is usually used in the following cases:

• There is instability, which can be caused by various causes, such as scoliosis or spondylolisthesis. In these cases, there is an excess of mobility in the spine.
• Arthrosis pain from hypertrophic arthrosis joints
• Deformities-when there is a deformity, such as from scoliosis
• Spinal stenosis
• Anterior cervical fusion: used to treat degenerative disc disease. Bone grafts are used to fuse the treated segment.
• Posterior cervical fusion:
• Posterior lumbar fusion.

Decompression techniques

• MicroDiscetomy: used to remove herniated fragments from the intervertebral disc. One of the most commonly used procedures in spinal surgery is micro discectomy with lumbar micro decompression.
• Microdecompression: used to treat canal stenosis

Recovery after surgery:

After sugery, microdiscectomy or MIS technique Lumbar decompression patient is usually mobilise same day and inbed exercises is started on same day.There is no need of belt or support. Patient can go back back to daily activities by 6 weeks. After major surgery like Fusion or Instrumentation is used patient usually require lumbar support belt till fusion take place. Patient can mobilise himself and can do minimal exercises. Any muscular or neurological weakness recovery can occur by 6 -8 weeks