Have you ever thought over on what you are going to do if this were ever to happen to you? Picture this scenario: you bend to pick something up, while straightening; you feel a cold numbness that goes down your spine. You ignore it. Forget about it. A few days later, after ignoring the spine tingling pain building up, you can’t straighten your back anymore. The most to your physician tell your woeful story. After a thorough assessment and lots of hours later, your physician tells you that there is a swelling in your spine. The swelling can only be relieved through surgery. The thought is horrifying. You don’t know anything about this. The whole idea simply cannot fit inside your head. It is an alien idea made even more horrifying as it is the worst pain you have ever experienced.
The first thing you will have to do is to try to attempt to understand just exact what is going on with Lumbar spine surgery. What in heaven’s name is a lumbar? You know what a spine is, what a surgery means, but lumbar? What part is that?
From a lay man’s point of view, the spine is segmented, separated discs or cushions between one bone and the next. There are five main parts: the cervical vertebrae (neck area), the thoracic vertebrae (chest and trunk area), the lumbar vertebrae (lower back area), the sacrum (hip area) and the coccyx (that small protrusion at the end of your spine). With that in mind, the lumbar spine surgery involves surgery on one of those small bones or discs that make up the lower back.
So what is next? What does the surgery involve?
The medical procedure lumbar spine surgery actually talks about two different surgical methods.
The first type is decompression lumbar spine surgery which basically involves just as it is called: decompression. Simply, there is a swelling, the swelling affects the nerve in the spine to be pressed or pinched. This results in pain. The relief from the pain is through surgery which involves the removal of a small fragment of the spinal bone or of the disc to give relief from the pain.
The second type of lumbar spine surgery is the lumbar spinal fusion. Just as it says, fusion here means bone grafting. The surgeon removes a piece of bone from another part of your body and this is paced on that area in the spine that is moving around too much. This movement causes a friction between the bones which results in pain. The bone graft should hat that movement and allow the area to heal.
New developments and techniques have been developed as alternatives to bone grafting. The so-called X-STOP device or interspinous spacer is placed between discs. Unlike bone grafting wherein motion is ceased, this device actually allows the patient to retain motion without the risk of friction and pain. Other medical conditions that may also require lumbar spine surgery are: scoliosis, spinal fractures and spinal deformities.
So now that you know, talk to your physician on what method is the best for you. Look for the best and most qualified surgeon who specializes in these procedures. Don’t think about the money involved. The risks are much higher than that.