Types of Spinal Surgery

by admin-blog-kh | May 18, 2017 11:24 am

1. Anterior Cervical Discectomy: The cervical region of the spinal column is reached from the side of the neck. An incision about 2 or 3 inches long is carefully made to expose the spine and the target discs are extracted. A bone is then placed into the empty space and in some cases this bone will be held in place with the help of a metal plate put in place with screws. The metal plate will be in place until the bone heals and fuses.

2. Alternative Lumbar Interbody Fusion: is performed by making a surgical cut in the abdomen, to directly access the front of the spine. It is performed to cut out the intervertebral disc, completely. After the disc is removed the intervening space is packed with devices such as a cage or bone to achieve a spinal fusion.

3. Bone Grafting: This process involves the placement of solid bone in the selected spine area to ensure healing of the bone. Different types of bones are used. It can be taken from another part of the patient’s body, or from a donor cadaver or it could be an artificial bone too. When using bone from the patient’s body or from a cadaver, this procedure is called Bone Harvesting.

4. Dens: This particular bone is a peg shaped bone located in the cervical region. The peg shaped dens hooks from C2 (second cervical vertebra) into the ring or cavity of C1 (first cervical vertebra). The Dens is very vulnerable and can be easily subjected to injury with trauma and if a patient is in an advanced stage of rheumatoid arthritis, then the dens also gets affected.

5. Discectomy: Is a simple procedure that is performed to partially or fully remove the vertebral disc that is causing pain, numbness or weakness. For instance, Decompressive Laminectomy is a form of discectomy that is performed to remove any vertebral disc that is causing pain in the lower back or lumbar region of the spinal column. The surgical incision to reach the vertebral disc may be made either posteriorly or anteriorly, depending on the region in the spinal column where the disc(s), need to be removed. With microscopic techniques, discectomy performed, to remove a disc from any part of the vertebral column has become simple, and recovery from the procedure is also rapid.

6. Endoscopic Surgery: Is a minimally invasive procedure[1] that is performed with the aid of an endoscope. The endoscopic procedure is administered in spine surgeries such as anterior thoracic discectomies, anterior lumbar fusion, kyphosis surgery, thoracic fusion, and biopsies.

7. Foraminectomy: This is a procedure performed on the foramen, which is the tunnel or passage through which the nerves from the spinal cord exit towards a specific organ or tissue. The narrowing of the foramen can cause the nerves to be irritated, compressed and consequently, render it dysfunctional. This type of disorder is generally seen in facet arthritis, spinal stenosis and lateral disc herniation. Foraminectomy is performed to remove the bone or tissue clogging the passageway. In some special cases it can be performed from outside the spinal canal.

8. Kyphoplasty: A new technique where a collapsed or fractured vertebra or vertebrae are cemented with bone cement, to reinforce it.

9. Laminectomy: Is performed to release the compressed nerves in the narrowed spinal canal. The spinal canal is enlarged providing more free space to the nerves that were squeezed due to the narrowing of the spinal passageway.

10. Laminoplasty: This procedure is also performed to enlarge the canal through which the spinal cord and nerves pass in the spinal column. However, it is commonly performed on the vertebrae in the cervical region.

11. Laminotomy: Is performed using a special instrument that takes little bites off, of the extra bone growth, thus freeing up the space in the spinal canal and decompressing the nerves.

12. Microdiscectomy[2]: Is a minimally invasive technique that allows for small incisions at the operative spot. With the aid of specialized instruments, tissue is dissected or a disc fragment is removed from the spinal canal.

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