What You Should Know About Spine Surgery

Surgical Spinal Decompression
Surgical decompression can help relieve symptoms that result from pressure on the spinal cord due to bulging or ruptured disks, bony growths or other spine conditions.  Symptoms that may be alleviated by decompression surgery include: pain, numbness, tingling and weakness.

Common types of decompression surgeries include:
Diskectomy – removal of a portion of the disk
Laminotomy or laminectomy – to increase the size of the spinal canal a portion of bone is removed
Foraminotomy or facetectomy- to increase the opening for the nerve roots, some bone and tissue are removed
Osteophyte removal – removal of arthritic bony growths
Corpectomy – removal of a vertebral body along with disks between the vertebrae

Spinal Fusion
Spinal fusion permanently joins together two or more vertebrae.  This procedure prevents movement between the bones.  The surgeon uses bone graft material to fuse the bones together.  The bones may also be fixed together with rods, screws, plates or cages.  Spinal fusion may be used to treat: injury to the bones of the spine, unstable spine due to infection or tumor, certain spine conditions affecting the vertebrae, abnormal curvatures, and arthritis of the spine.

Spinal Reconstruction
Spinal reconstruction is used to correct a deformity or misalignment affecting a major portion or the spine including more than one level of the spine.  During this procedure, the deformity is corrected, the spine is stabilized with rods and pins and vertebrae may be fused together.  In some cases an artificial device may be used to replace the diseased portions of the spine.  Spinal reconstruction is used to treat scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, and kyphosis.  A variety of surgical techniques may be used for spinal reconstruction.  Together with your surgeon, you will decide which procedure is appropriate for you.