- Anatomy of The Spine
- Back Pain in Children
- Caring for your Spine
- Emerging Spinecare Trends
- Evaluation of Spinal Disorders
- Exercise and The Spine
- Intervention - Spinal Disorders
- Intervertebral Disc
- Non Surgical Options
- Nutrition and Spinecare
- Options for Spine Treatments
- Pregnancy and Back Pain
- Prevalence of Spine Disorders
- Sleep and the Spine
- Spinecare Introduction
- Spinehealth and Disease
- Surgical Interventions
- Treatment with Medications
- Understanding Back Pain
Spinecare Topics
Surgical Interventions
Surgical Interventions
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Surgical Interventions
Posterolateral Fusion: This refers to the approach used when accessing
the spine along its side in order to place bone along the back and side
of the spine to fuse one or more spinal segments.
Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF): This procedure is performed by removing bone along the posterior aspect of the spinal canal. The surgeon uses the operating window to clean up the spinal canal and remove disc material from between two adjacent vertebrae. The nerves are pulled aside (retracted) during the procedure. The attending spine surgeon then places a piece of bone into the disc space. Instrumentation may be used to strengthen the bone fusion. The procedure is similar to the PLIF with the exception that is performed on one side of the spine.
Combined Approach: The spine surgeon may need to perform a posterior and anterior approach to the spine in order to correct he underlying problem and to perform a successful fusion.
Risks Associated with Spinal Fusion
The risks associated with spinal fusion are similar to the risks associated with other back surgeries with a few exceptions. Spinal fusion exposes the patient to substantially greater risk that other more simple back surgeries although the overall risk for complications is relatively low. The risks unique to spinal fusion surgery include:
The fixation device may break or fail
There may be post-operative pain at the site of the bone harvest
The vertebrae may fail to fuse together (nonunion)
Host rejection of allograft bone or to instrumentation
Malposition of fused vertebral relative to neighboring vertebrae
Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF): This procedure is performed by removing bone along the posterior aspect of the spinal canal. The surgeon uses the operating window to clean up the spinal canal and remove disc material from between two adjacent vertebrae. The nerves are pulled aside (retracted) during the procedure. The attending spine surgeon then places a piece of bone into the disc space. Instrumentation may be used to strengthen the bone fusion. The procedure is similar to the PLIF with the exception that is performed on one side of the spine.
Combined Approach: The spine surgeon may need to perform a posterior and anterior approach to the spine in order to correct he underlying problem and to perform a successful fusion.
Risks Associated with Spinal Fusion
The risks associated with spinal fusion are similar to the risks associated with other back surgeries with a few exceptions. Spinal fusion exposes the patient to substantially greater risk that other more simple back surgeries although the overall risk for complications is relatively low. The risks unique to spinal fusion surgery include:
The fixation device may break or fail
There may be post-operative pain at the site of the bone harvest
The vertebrae may fail to fuse together (nonunion)
Host rejection of allograft bone or to instrumentation
Malposition of fused vertebral relative to neighboring vertebrae
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