So what are the non-fusion surgeries on lumbar spine?
These are essentially done for fractures: kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty. These are patients who have a vertebral compression fracture. They have no breach posteriorly. Sometimes we did do them on the patients who have breach also, but only if they have (failed) not been getting better with a conservative measure, conservative means.
This is putting a cement into a vertebral fracture. It’s sort of… These patients mostly are osteoporotic. So putting the cement in one vertebra is not the best answer sometimes. This is like eggshells and you have egg shells one over the other and you put cement in one, what will happen to the others when there is load on it?
This is hard, the others will start breaking and these patients will have other level of compression fractures also. So it has to be a very, it has to be a judgment call. The patient’s not getting better. Then we decided to do it otherwise most of the time we can treat them without surgery.
These are the non-fusion decompression surgeries. So these are the patients who have stable spine, who have single or multiple levels stenosis and these can even be done at all five levels decompression. These are done from the back, essentially. This is sort of central decompression far lateral decompression or recess decompressions. These can be done in minimal invasive fashion artists. We can use tubes and microscopes. So we go with small incisions and we can do it.
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I am Vedant Vaksha, Fellowship trained Spine, Sports and Arthroscopic Surgeon at Complete Orthopedics. I take care of patients with ailments of the neck, back, shoulder, knee, elbow and ankle. I personally approve this content and have written most of it myself.
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