Americans, Canadians and Europeans seeking Spinal Fusion procedures no longer have to worry about exaggerated costs, limited or no health insurance coverage, and long waiting lines. The current condition of medical care in developed countries has paved the way for medical tourism abroad. Highly qualified doctors and surgeons in India, who have been educated in some of the top universities in America and elsewhere, hold clinical positions at state-of-the-art medical facilities that cater mainly to medical tourists. India´s medical institutions utilize the newest medical technology and are run by some of the most skilled and qualified medical professionals.
Overview of Procedure
Back pain affects over 80% of adults at some point in their lives, whether it be lower back pain, middle, or upper. Back pain is often related to our working conditions, lifestyle and diet. Sometimes back pain is not self inflicted, but rather a consequence of accidents, sports injuries or degenerative disease, such as osteoarthritis. It can often be controlled with exercises, especially exercises that focus on the strengthening of the back, losing excess weight, avoiding smoking or by using conventional non-surgical treatments to improve back pain.
When all else fails, surgery may be your only option, at which point you should request a consultation to determine what type of surgery you may need. Or perhaps you still may not need surgery, but just some guidance in conventional methods of therapy. You may even be advised to go to a physical therapist.
360 degree fusion is a minimally invasive surgery used to treat Spinal Stenosis.
The Right Candidates
Fusion may be recommended to treat scoliosis, a slipped disc, damaged joint or spinal stenosis. If you suffer from any of these conditions, we advise you to get it checked out as pain can be persistent the longer you wait.
Risks and Side Effects
People who have had spinal fusion will notice less flexibility in their backs after surgery.
Surgery
Spinal Stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal causing pinching on the nerves or the compressed area, extending out to the legs. Spinal stenosis usually occurs in individuals over 50, however younger people who have narrow spinal canals are also at risk. Lumbar Stenosis is the most common type of Spinal Stenosis, which occurs in the lower back. Cervical Stenosis is the most dangerous and the rarer form of stenosis. It occurs in the upper back and neck and can affect the brain and speech.
360 degree fusion for spinal stenosis utilizes a combination of posterolateral fusion and inter body fusion, the two main techniques used in spinal fusion surgery. The purpose of 360 degree spinal fusion is to relieve pain in the spine caused by degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis and abnormal spine growth. 360 degree fusion fuses removes damaged parts of the bone or disc and then fuses the vertebrae back together using bone graft.
Posterolateral fusion v.s. Inter body fusion
The main difference between posterolateral fusion and inter body fusion is in where the graft is placed. Posterolateral fusion allows the disc to remain intact and places the bone graft between the transverse processes of the vertebra so that morselized bone will extend from one vertebra to the next vertebra. Bilateral screws and rods are then fixated onto the pedicles for extra support. Bone graft morsels can be placed along the sides of the spine and rods for additional support.
One level fusion would fuse together two vertebrae, using 4 screws and 2 rods, while two level fusion would fuse together 3 vertebrae by using 6 screws and 2 rods.
In inter body fusion, the damaged disc is removed and replaced with a bone graft. The endplates of the vertebral bodies are cleaned prior to placement. The graft is placed between the vertebral bodies sometimes through an anterior approach (front) in which a small incision is made in the abdomen. This approach is also known as ALIF (anterior lumbar interbody fusion). Access to the spine through the anterior is easier than from the back because the muscles in the abdomen run vertically, allowing the surgeon to simply move them over rather than cutting them, unlike conventional open spine surgeries. Pain is also minimal because muscle is not cut. An ALIF can be done with one incision or with several tiny incisions by using an endoscope, allowing for better visualization.
Interbody fusion can also be performed by accessing the spine through the back, a fusion technique known as Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF) or Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF). The main difference between the two is in the angle in which the disc is placed. TLIF is preferred by most over PLIF.
Recovery
Recovery from the 360 spinal procedure can take several weeks. The patient will need to rest for a few days. After the pain from the surgery fades, the patient will slowly begin to re-adapt to normal daily activities.
Results
After you have recovered from surgery, you may continue to have some pain in your back. To reduce some of the pain, it is recommended to stay in good physical shape.
|
