Spine Surgery

In order to treat back pain, you have several options. One of them is spine surgery. Although rarely the first choice to treat back pain, spine surgery may be necessary after other back treatments have failed or in some emergency cases. Because spine surgery is a complex operation, surgeons will advise three to six months of conservative back pain treatment before getting to spine surgery. There are 3 different procedures:

Discectomy
Herniated discs are most likely treated with this spine surgery procedure. The surgeon will remove a portion of the damaged discs; pressure on the pinched nerves will then be relieved. The herniated discs might be removed completely in some cases, depending on the severity of the damage.

Foramenotomy
A foramenotomy is pretty much the same type of spine surgery than the discectomy (relieving pressure on the pinched nerves that create back pain by altering disc) but it will also remove a fragment of bone and/or other tissue in the spinal column.

Laminectomy
A laminectomy will relieve pressure on the actual spinal cord. This type of spine surgery is mainly performed to treat spondylolisthesis and/or the most common spinal stenosis. This type of spine surgery may be performed with a spinal fusion that will secure stability.