Spine surgeries
If non-surgical treatments haven’t been able to ease your chronic, debilitating back pain stiffness, numbness or tingling, then you may be a candidate for spine surgery. HonorHealth’s team of spine experts will create a personalized surgery plan tailored to meet your individual needs.
Our spine surgeons are committed to taking the least invasive approach to surgery whenever possible. They are trained in minimally invasive and robotic-assisted techniques over conventional open surgery.
Goals of spine surgery
Depending on the type and severity of your spine issue, surgery may be used to:
- Decompress the spinal cord or a nerve root to reduce or eliminate symptoms.
- Stabilize an unstable or painful segment of the spine.
- Reduce a deformity caused by a disease or disorder.
- Treat a spinal cord tumor.
- Minimize damage following a traumatic spine fracture or spinal cord injury.
Surgery is always a big step, especially when it comes to treating back or neck pain and spine deformities. Be sure to talk openly with your surgeon about your condition, expected outcomes and any concerns. You may also want to consider getting a second opinion before undergoing surgery.
Minimally invasive spine surgery
HonorHealth spine surgeons choose minimally invasive surgery whenever possible and appropriate. In comparison to conventional spine surgery that requires cutting through muscles and other structures in the back, minimally invasive surgery uses an endoscope (a thin, flexible tube with a camera attached to the end) that enables doctors to operate through small incisions.
Benefits of minimally invasive spine surgery include:
- Shorter hospital stays
- Smaller incisions
- Speedier recovery times
- Less scarring
- Reduced blood loss
Minimally invasive surgery is used to treat a variety of spine conditions like:
- Compression fractures
- Herniated discs
- Spinal stenosis
- Spinal tumors
- Spine instability
Robotic spine surgery
The spine robots used at HonorHealth are leading-edge technology for the treatment of spine conditions. The robot works hand-in-hand with the spine surgeon’s expertise to create safer and more accurate procedures.
How it works: The equipment uses 3D imaging to help your spine surgeon precisely map out the procedure. The surgeon then uses this plan, along with real-time imaging, to guide a robotic arm to place screws and other implants in your spine. The surgical team monitors the instruments and implants on a screen throughout the procedure.
Benefits of using robotic technology during surgery include:
- A shorter surgery, meaning less time under anesthesia
- A less invasive procedure using smaller incisions
- Reduced pain
- A shorter hospital stay
- Less recovery time
- Fewer complications
Types of spine surgery
HonorHealth’s spine surgeons perform virtually all types of spine surgery. Your surgeon will work with you to identify the best procedure and approach for your specific injury or condition.
Among the many types of spine surgery offered at HonorHealth are:
- Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF surgery) to remove a herniated or degenerative disc in the neck.
- Artificial disc replacement to remove a damaged disc and replaces it with an artificial one made of a metal, polymers, or a combination of metal and polymers.
- Foraminotomy to surgically widen the portion of the spine where the nerves exit to relieve pressure. Because the procedure can decrease spine stability, surgery may also include spinal fusion.
- Kyphoplasty to insert a sort of medical balloon and inject bone cement. This expands the space around a compressed vertebra. It’s commonly used to treat vertebral compression fractures often associated with osteoporosis.
- Laminectomy to remove a portion of the vertebrae called the lamina, relieving pressure on the spinal cord and/or nerve root compression or pinched nerves.
- Microdiscectomy to remove a herniated segment of a disc that’s causing nerve irritation and/or inflammation. This procedure usually removes the back portion of a vertebra (lamina) to access the affected disc.
- Spinal fusion to join two or more vertebrae and stabilize the back. Spinal fusion is typically used to eliminate pain caused by abnormal vertebral movement.
- Stereotactic spinal radiosurgery to treat and/or provide relief from pain caused by spinal tumors through a type of radiation therapy.
- Vertebroplasty to treat a fractured vertebrae by injecting it with bone cement, offering stability and relief from pain that often accompanies a compression fracture.