Understanding Back Surgery

And when it’s needed…

Most of us, after a certain age or because of stressful activity, do experience pain in the lower back, this is easily treatable without having to go through the trouble of finding the best spine surgeons and back pain specialists in Delhi. Did you know that surgery in most cases will not help relieve the pain; recent studies have suggested about 20 to 40 percent of surgeries for back pain is not “successful”. You can consult the best orthopedic surgeons around and they’ll tell you that this lack of success from back surgeries is quite common and there is a term for it as well; failed back surgery syndrome.

On the other hand, there are certain situations when back surgery is a good or necessary option to deal with musculoskeletal injuries or nerve compression. If you’re considering surgery for back pain, feel free to consult some of Delhi’s best back specialists at Aakash Healthcare who will help you decide if surgery is indeed a viable option after they make sure there are no better alternatives. If you’re unsure of back surgery cost, don’t worry: we provide exceptionally low-cost spine surgery for our patients, with the same succeeding results. 

When do I need back surgery?

Several scenarios require back surgery as a last line of treatment. For instance, if your spinal disks have gotten damaged with age, if you have fractures in your vertebra because of a spinal injury or osteoporosis, herniated or ruptured disks, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis.

In exceptional cases, back pain can be caused by a tumor or infection, and at times a nerve root problem called cauda equine syndrome. In these cases, surgery is advised right away to relieve the pain and avoid further complications.

Back Surgery Types:

Given below are a few surgical options for back pain

• Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are meant to repair compression fractures of the vertebrae which happen due to osteoporosis. In both of these procedures, a glue-like bone cement that hardens and strengthens the bone is injected through.
• Lumbar decompression back surgery involves

a) Discectomy – This is a surgical procedure used to remove a herniated disk and presses if a disk is pressing against a nerve root or the spinal cord. A sponsor laminectomy and discectomy will most likely be performed together.

b) Spinal laminectomy or spinal decompression - It is done when spinal stenosis has narrowed the spinal canal; resulting in severe pain, numbness, and/or weakness. In this surgery, the bony walls of the vertebrae and any bone spurs will be removed to ease pressure on the nerves.

• Foraminotomy in which the surgeon enlarges the bony hole where a nerve root exits the spinal canal to make more room and prevent bulging disks or joints from pressing against the nerve.
• Nucleoplast or plasma disk decompression is a laser surgery that uses radio-frequency energy to treat people with lower back pain because of a mildly herniated disk. The surgeon will insert a needle into the herniated disk, after which a plasma laser device is inserted into the needle and the tip is then heated: this vaporizes the tissue in the disk, reducing its size and relieving pressure. This is considered a minimally invasive spine surgery.
• Spinal fusion wherein a back surgeon will remove the spinal disk between two or more vertebrae, then fuse the adjacent vertebrae using grafts or metal devices. Spinal fusion can lead to some loss of flexibility in the spine and does entail a long recovery period which will allow the bone grafts to grow and fuse the vertebrae back together.
• Artificial disk replacement, an alternative to spinal fusion for treating people with severely damaged disks. In this procedure, the disk is removed and replaced by a synthetic disk that restores height and movement between the vertebrae.

Some surgical treatments will not be recommended and some will, back treatment, and back surgery are not necessarily meant to go together. Patients who consult the best surgeons for back surgery don’t need to as they don’t need surgery at all while some patients may need to get back surgery for arthritis. 

The risks of back surgery

Back surgery carries a higher risk than other types of surgery because it is done so close to the nervous system. Try and get treated at the best spine surgery hospitals or the best you can get to if it’s an emergency. You must know that the most severe risks of back surgery are paralysis and infections.

Even after successful back surgery, recovery can be long. Based on the type of surgery and your condition beforehand, healing can take months. And there’s a chance you’ll lose some flexibility permanently. There are many successful and proven options available before back surgery, all you need to do is make the right choice.

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