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Spinal Fusion Surgery

Spinal Fusion Surgery. Spinal fusion is surgery to permanently connect two or more vertebrae in your spine, eliminating motion between them.

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Spinal Fusion Surgery

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  1. SpinalFusionSurgery Spinalfusionissurgerytopermanentlyconnecttwoormorevertebraeinyourspine,eliminatingmotionbetweenthem. Spinalfusioninvolvestechniquesdesignedtomimicthenormalhealingprocessofbrokenbones.Duringspinalfusion,yoursurgeonplacesboneorabone-likematerialwithinthespacebetweentwospinalvertebrae.Metalplates,screwsandrodsmaybeusedtoholdthevertebraetogether,sotheycanhealintoonesolidunit. Becausespinalfusionsurgeryimmobilizespartsofyourspine,itchangesthewayyourspinecanmove.Thisplacesadditionalstressandstrainonthevertebraeaboveandbelowthefusedportion,andmayincreasetherateatwhichthoseareasofyourspinedegenerate.

  2. Whyit'sdone • Spinalfusionpermanentlyconnectstwoormorevertebraeinyourspinetoimprovestability,correctadeformityorreducepain.Yourdoctormayrecommendspinalfusiontotreatthefollowingspineproblems: • Brokenvertebrae.Notallbrokenvertebraerequirespinalfusion.Manyhealwithouttreatment.Butifabrokenvertebramakesyourspinalcolumnunstable,spinalfusionsurgerymaybenecessary. • Deformitiesofthespine.Spinalfusioncanhelpcorrectspinaldeformities,suchasasidewayscurvatureofthespine(scoliosis)orabnormalroundingoftheupperspine(kyphosis). • Spinalweaknessorinstability.Yourspinemaybecomeunstableifthere'sabnormalorexcessivemotionbetweentwoverte-brae.Thisisacommonsideeffectofseverearthritisinthespine.Spinalfusioncanbeusedtorestorespinalstabilityinsuchcases. • Spondylolisthesis.Inthisspinaldisorder,onevertebraslipsforwardandontothevertebrabelowit.Spinalfusionmaybeneededtotreatspondylolisthesisiftheconditioncausesseverebackpainornervecrowdingthatproduceslegpainornumbness. • Herniateddisk.Spinalfusionmaybeusedtostabilizethespinefollow-ingremovalofadamaged(herniated)disk. • Chroniclowbackpain.Spinalfusionmaybeusedtorestrictspinalmotioninanefforttorelievechroniclowbackpainthatcannotbeattrib-utedtoaspecificdisorder.Thisuseofspinalfusioniscontroversial,however,asresearchhasshowninconsistentresultsregardingtheeffectivenessofspinalfusionintreatingnonspecificlowbackpain.

  3. Procedure Lumbarspinalfusionhasbeenperformedfordecades.Thereareseveraldifferenttechniquesthatmaybeusedtofusethespine.Therearealsodifferent"approaches"yoursurgeoncantakeforyourprocedure. Yoursurgeonmayapproachyourspinefromthefront.Thisisananteriorapproachandrequiresanincisioninthelowerabdomen. Aposteriorapproachisdonefromyourback.Oryoursurgeonmayapproachyourspinefromtheside,calledalateralapproach. Minimallyinvasivetechniqueshavealsobeendeveloped.Theseallowfusionstobeperformedwithsmallerincisions. Therightprocedureforyouwilldependonthenatureandlocationofyourdisease. BONEGRAFTING Allspinalfusionsusesometypeofbonematerial,calledabonegraft,tohelppromotethefusion.Generally,smallpiecesofboneareplacedintothespacebetweenthevertebraetobefused. Abonegraftisprimarilyusedtostimulatebonehealing.Itincreasesboneproductionandhelpsthevertebraehealtogetherintoasolidbone.Sometimeslarger,solidpiecesareusedtoprovideimmediatestructuralsupporttothevertebrae. Inthepast,abonegraftharvestedfromthepatient'siliaccrestwastheonlyoptionforfusingthevertebrae.Thistypeofgraftiscalledanautograft.Harvestingabonegraftrequiresanadditionalincisionduringtheoperation.Itlengthenssurgeryandcancauseincreasedpainaftertheoperation.Onealternativetoharvestingabonegraftisanallograft,whichiscadaverbone.Anallograftistypicallyacquiredthroughabonebank. Today,severalartificialbonegraftmaterialshavealsobeendeveloped.

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