The most commonly performed spine surgeries are:
- MICRODISCECTOMY
- FRACTURE FIXATION
- SPINE FUSION SURGERY
- DEFORMITY CORRECTION
DISC PROLAPSE OR BULGE
What is Disc?
A disc is a soft tissue cushion-like structure in between two vertebral bones. Sometimes the disc comes out of its space and causes compression on the nerve roots near it.
Symptoms?
Pain in the neck or low back radiating to the corresponding limb Numbness, Paraesthesia in the limb. Findings are mostly clinical and are correlated with MRI scan.
What is the treatment?
1. Conservative :
Most of the cases are treated with medication, physiotherapy and lifestyle modification.
2. Operative :
Surgical treatment involves the removal of the disc and fusion of the cervical bones with a cage or bone graft. Sometimes Laminectomy is done as a procedure for decompression.
MICRODISCECTOMY :
It is the procedure where the extruded or prolapsed disc is removed by a small incision and the compression on the nerve roots which come out of the spinal cord is relieved.
Levels :
CERVICAL DISCECTOMY :
LUMBAR DISCECTOMY :
SPINE FRACTURES
Causes :
1. Traumatic – fall from height , Accidents , etc
2. Osteoporotic – due to weakness of the bone , post menopausal , secondary to hormonal imbalances , Metabolic errors , etc
3. Pathological – due to spread of bone cancer or other organ cancer, eg. MULTIPLE MYELOMA
Treatment options:
Conservative – rest, braces medications like bisphosphonates, Teriparatide, Calcitonin
Operative – the fracture is fixed with rods and screws. The indications for surgery are varied and patient-specific.
SPINAL FUSION SURGERIES
It is done for degenerative disc diseases with damage to the vertebral body and conditions such as listhesis causing severe spinal canal stenosis.
Commonly performed surgeries are
1. LUMBAR INTERBODY FUSION ( PLIF, TLIF )
2. ANTERIOR CERVICAL DISCECTOMY AND FUSION (ACDF)
DEFORMITY CORRECTION
The topic is covered in the section on congenital deformity correction