Spinal Surgery

Body elements such as the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves have always been paid attention by neurosurgeons. Spinal surgery is performed when problems with the neck cervical spine), mid back (thoracic spine) and low back (lumbar spine) occurs and it not diminishes after several months of non-surgical treatment. Spinal troubles are usually extremely painful, and many of the surgical procedures are quite involved and require longer recuperation times. As the human spine is very multifarious, so it can be difficult for a doctor to locate the exact cause of back pain and other spine related problems. The spine is made up of a chain of bones called "vertebrae"; and each vertebra has strong connective tissues which hold one vertebra to another, and acts as a cushion between the vertebrae. The disc allows for movements of the vertebrae and let's people curve and take turns their neck and back. Problem appears when abnormalities or disease take place in vertebra and disc. If any carelessness is done in timely treatment then it may cause of death or complete paralysis in a patient. Sometimes neurosurgical accidents or negligence also affects spinal functionary & drastically affects the quality of life of a victim.

Some factors that may increase the risk of spinal code injury are such as- trauma (due to accidents, falls, gunshots, diving accidents, war injuries, etc), tumor, ischemia (due to abnormalities of spinal blood vessels), developmental disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, demyelinative diseases, transverse myelitis and vascular malformations.

Depending on the condition of patient, two kinds of surgical procedure is performed to cure the spinal problems which are- Spinal Fusion and Disc Replacement. Through spinal fusion surgery, the disc (which is a soft material between two vertebrae) is removed and the space is filled with bone graft. Following this procedure, the bone creates a solid bony bridge across the two vertebrae and previously painful segment is made pain free. Instrumentation is sometimes used to correct a deformity, but usually is just used as an internal splint to hold the vertebrae together to while the bone grafts heal. The ultimate aim of fusion is to achieve a solid union between two or more vertebrae.

Recent inventive operative treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease is - Disc Replacement. The existing disk is removed and it is replaced by an artificial disc which thus restores movements in that particular segment and also does not make higher motion segment of vertebral column painful in the longer run.

After the surgery patients are expected to stay in hospital for up to 2 weeks. Some physiotherapy prescribed by the doctor must be exercise for faster recovery. After spinal surgery patient may be instructed to limit his/her activities for a period of time to give body a perfect order to heal. Patient must follow doctor's instructions and give time to heal.