Back Surgery: Types, Recovery, Benefits, and Risks

If you’re experiencing chronic back pain or your back got injured in an accident recently, it’s highly likely that you’re thinking about back surgery, right? If your answer is ‘yes’, be sure to keep on reading and learn more about the types, recovery, benefits, and risks of back surgery. Just stay with us and check out our guide!

What are some types of back surgery?

There are numerous types of back surgery which should be taken into consideration; however, it’s vital to say that your final choice should depend on your specific condition and problem. Some of the most common types are:

• Spinal laminectomy/spinal decompression

If you’re experiencing pain, weakness, or numbness that occurs when spinal stenosis causes a narrowing of the spinal canal, you may be a good candidate for spinal laminectomy/spinal decompression. Your surgeon will open the spinal column in order to remove pressure on the nerves by removing the bony walls of the vertebrae and any bone spurs.

• Discectomy

On the other hand, discectomy is an option when a herniated disk presses on the spinal cord or a nerve root. Such a disk needs to be removed in order to fix the problem, and you should know that discectomy and laminectomy are usually performed together. 

• Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty

If you suffer from osteoporosis which caused a compression fracture of the vertebrae, you should know that vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty may be the right choice for you. These procedures are used to repair compression fractures of the vertebrae, and they’re both done by injecting glue-like cement which hardens and strengthens the bone.

• Spinal fusion

This procedure is performed by the surgeon who removes the spinal disk between two or more vertebrae and then fuses the adjacent vertebrae by using either bone grafts or metal devices secured by screws. Spinal fusion requires a long recovery period in order for bone grafts to grow and fuse the vertebrae together, which may result in loss of flexibility in the spine to a certain extent.

How long does it take to recover?

Post-spinal surgery recovery often takes a lot of time, usually around 4 months. That’s simply because the bones need time to completely heal, and it’s good to know that the healing process can continue over a period of one year. When it comes to spinal fusion, which is one of the most complex back surgery procedures, your doctor will recommend you to be off work and other physical activities for approximately 4-5 weeks. Also, back surgery can cause an extremely high degree of post-operative pain, so make sure to discuss pain relief options with a pain management specialist and find the best solution that’ll work for you.

What are the benefits of back surgery?

Benefits of back surgery are multiple – especially if you’ve been dealing with pain and discomfort for a long time. Besides that, back surgery is essential as it brings back stability to the spine after an injury, trauma, or accident. Of course, it’s crucial to seek help from an experienced spine surgeon such as Dr Timothy Steel, who performed more than 12,000 surgeries, both complex and minimally invasive, over the last 21 years. He’s changed the lives of thousands of patients by helping them attain a better quality of life, so check out some of his results and you’ll see what we were talking about.

What are the risks of back surgery?

When it comes to the risks of back surgery, you should bear in mind that it can carry higher risks than some other types of surgery for one simple reason – it’s performed closer to the nervous system. Various infections and paralysis are the most serious risks linked to back surgery, and there are also a reaction to anesthesia or other drugs, bleeding, blood clots, and even stroke. Of course, the odds of something going wrong can go up for people who are dealing with certain health conditions, and these vary by the type of surgery. It’s your surgeon’s job to identify potential problems and develop a good strategy, so be sure to talk about that before you head to the OR.

As you can see, there are a lot of important things you should know about back surgery, so stick to our guidelines and learn more about its types, recovery, benefits, and risks. This is one of the best ways to get prepared for your surgery, so bear our tips in mind and you’ll do the right job, without a shadow of a doubt!