Spinal fusion is a procedure to bring two or more bones of your spine together surgically. A minimally invasive spine procedure uses a smaller incision than a conventional spinal fusion surgery. Vertebrae are the bones that form the spinal column, which protects your spinal cord. Several medical conditions and age-related changes may cause your vertebra to move from their normal position or rub against each other, affecting the surrounding nerves, muscles and ligaments, causing severe pain and discomfort.
Depending upon your causative factors, your doctor may use different approaches to reach your vertebrae, correct their position, and prevent movement.
Indications of minimally invasive spinal fusion
Minimally invasive spinal fusion may be indicated for a number of medical conditions including:
- Degenerative disc diseases
- Spinal column fractures
- Spinal infections
- Tumours of the spinal cord
- Scoliosis
- Spinal stenosis
- Spondylolisthesis
Surgery may indicated in patients have who have poorly responded to conservative methods of treatment including physical therapy and medications.
Minimally Invasive Spinal Fusion procedure
The surgery will be performed by an orthopaedic surgeon, who will decide the surgical approach based on your condition. The surgery takes place under general anaesthesia which puts you to sleep so that you don’t feel any pain during the surgery.
A small incision is usually made on your back or the side depending on the approach decided by your surgeon. Special tools are used to the slowly push your back muscles away. Then, the intervertebral disc between the involved vertebrae is removed, followed by placement of bone or bone-like synthetic material to fill the space between the vertebrae. Special screws and rods may be used to hold the vertebrae in their position. Finally, the incision is surgically closed.
Postoperative patient-care
Once the surgery is completed, you may feel slight pain around the incision area which subsides within a few days or can be relieved with pain medications. Your doctor may take some X-rays to determine how your surgical procedure went and advise you to avoid some over-the-counter pain medications as it may interfere with your bone healing.
Initially, slight movements like walking are recommended, and activity levels are gradually increased. Your surgeon may recommend diets with high levels of calcium and vitamin D to promote bone healing.
Recovery
Your symptoms of pain and discomfort may be relieved immediately after surgery, or they may slowly decrease over period of few weeks.
