Spine surgery is, from what my patients tell me, two of the most feared words in their vocabulary. So many patients have dealt with debilitating spine issues for years and are desperate for any relief. Often, the patients who come to my clinic have already been to the chiropractor, physical therapist, and massage therapist. They’ve already tried medications like opioids. They’ve tried epidural injections. They’ve had X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. The last step in their process is to consult with a spine surgeon about having an operation.
Surgical Options
Articifical Disc: This is typically used as an alternative to spinal fusion due to a degenerated or injured disc. These were more common several years ago, but has fallen out of standard practice. To date, I have only seen one in my practice. Unfortunately, this patient was worse after the disc replacement than she was before.
Discectomy: This procedure is used to remove the herniated portion of the disc because it’s causing irritiation on the nearby dorsal root ganglion (nerve root). This compression causes local inflammation of the nerve which can lead to radiating pain down the arms or legs. Discectomies are very common these days and are considered ‘minimally invasive.’ Unfortunately, the incidence of re-herniating the disc that was operated on is high. To date, I have seen this happen quite often in my patients. Rather than allowing the disc to heal naturally, this procedure removes some of the outer annular rings to reduce the disc herniation.
Laminectomy: This procedure involves the removal of bone (the lamina) in an attempt to relieve nerve pressure caused by a bulging or herniated disc. Often, laminectomies are done in conjunction with a spinal fusion to stabilize the surgical site to the adjacent vertebra because they are cutting bone off. Unfortunately, a laminectomy is a short term solution because it’s not addressing the underlying disc pathology. Rather, the surgeon is removing bone to give nerves more space. To date, I have seen many laminectomies that have failed and patients are seeking a non-invasive solution.
Spinal Fusion: This procedure is intensive because the spine surgeon permanently connects two or more vertebra in your back/neck. This adds stability because often the spine is not stable due to a laminectomy or slippage of the vertebra as with a spondylolisthesis. Unfortunately, this can cause other issues in the coming years such as adjacent disc syndrome in which the neighboring disc (above or below) has to bear more of the mechanical burden. The success rate of a fusion is relatively low which often leads to a second surgery.
Risks of Spine Surgery
Many people understand how serious a back surgery can be. Patients often come to my clinic begging me to help them so that they don’t have to go under the knife. Though spine surgeons are highly educated and specially trained, there are numerous inherent risks of spine surgery. This list is not exhaustive but is what patients have told me they have experienced.
Reaction to anesthesia
Increased pain
Bleeding
Infection
Permanent nerve or spinal cord damage
Issue/trouble with spinal implants
Lack of bone healing
Spinal fluid leak
Medical complications (heart attack, blood clot, stroke, or respiratory failure)
Selection Process
Every surgeon wants to have the best outcome possible. At the core of who they are, they care about their patients and want to keep their reputation intact. Many surgeons that I know have a selection process to qualify and disqualify patients from surgery. Most surgeons will not operate if there are red flags or direct contraindications to a successful procedure. However, statistically speaking each operation has varying levels of success, risk, and complications.
What if I don’t want to have back surgery?
If you are looking for an alternative to spine surgery, ask yourself, “Have I tried all my options?”
Allow me to introduce you to the DRX-9000. This is an FDA-cleared non-surgical spinal decompression table that is specifically designed to help bulging, herniated, and degenerative discs heal naturally without addictive opioids, risky epidural injections, and invasive spine surgeries. This technology has a nationwide success rate of 88-92% success rate. It has been documented in the literature to be safe and effective. If you or someone you know is considering back surgery, I’d recommend you exhaust all means of non-invasive / non-surgical treatments before going under the knife.
