8. Is There Disc Surgery Without Fusion?
Yes, there are a number of exciting options to treating the pain associated with a pinched nerve in the neck or low back. The most obvious step is to avoid surgery in the first place! This is possible in over 90% of patients with radiating symptoms from disc herniations through conservative management and epidural steroid injections. However, if everything else fails and surgery is necessary, there are a number of exciting options:
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| 1. Microsurgery depending on the position of the herniation, microscopic discectomies can help relieve pain without fusion. This type of surgery is very common in the lumbar spine (low back), but is also possible in the cervical (neck) and thoracic spines. Patients typically require less than 2 weeks to recover from minimally invasive procedures. |
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2. Disc replacement An exciting new technology recently approved for use in the United States is disc replacement surgery. Please see here for more information. Like a knee or hip replacement, the goals are: to maintain motion, to avoid stress on other parts of the spine, and to avoid the time necessary for bones to fuse together. Many studies proved that patients with disc replacement can return to their normal lifestyle sooner after a disc replacement, than fusion - if disc replacement is indicated for their specific problem. |
Microdiscectomy |
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