Back surgery, it’s a word that conjures up images of old movies where the injured person huddles up with a friend, shoving the other out of the way so they can slide into an injured person’s bed. This image is frequently used in movies to help create the suspense of an amateur surgical procedure, and indeed back surgery does involve sliding into someone’s bed to perform the operation. However, back surgery today is much more complicated than that and performed by very qualified doctors who use state-of-the-art equipment to make sure their patients don’t suffer from post-operative complications that can be extremely dangerous. When a person is rushed into surgery, it’s imperative that he or she receives topnotch care.
There are various surgical procedures for lower back pain, but the 800 pound gorilla in the room when it comes to back surgery is minimally invasive surgery. In this operation, the doctor combines two adjacent vertebrae together to form a single, stable structure known as a disc. After locating the defect, the doctor then uses lasers and other modern tools to reshape the spine. The result is that a smaller, stronger backside is created, and the patient experiences almost instant relief from back pain after the procedure.
Another type of minimally invasive procedure that is commonly used in back surgery is hip replacement surgery. When a patient suffers from a severe injury, such as a broken hip, bone spurs may form along the damaged tendon, which makes it difficult to move around. In order to eliminate the spurs, the doctor makes a small incision along the side of the tendon and inserts an artificial hip into the space. The patient is usually sedated prior to surgery and then anesthetized for the remainder of the procedure. Once it’s over, most patients can go home the same day.