BACK PAIN - WHEN SPINE SURGERY CAN HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEM
Disc herniation, spondololisthesis, stenosis: These are just some of the disorders that cause back pain and that can benefit from minimally invasive spinal neurosurgery
Back pain is a disorder that negatively affects the quality of life, and is considered the main ailment for which a visit is requested. Sometimes you suffer from it sporadically, other times the pain can be more acute and recurring. Very often back pain is caused by advancing age which can lead to disc degeneration and, when the pain persists continuously and neurological problems are also present, then it may be necessary to resort to spine neurosurgery to put end to back pain
Nowadays the neurosurgeon intervenes with minimally invasive techniques, but it is not always immediately necessary to resort to spinal neurosurgery. There are cases for which minimally invasive neurosurgery represents the solution to be adopted and sometimes, however, it is appropriate to resort to other therapeutic options. Back pain, can minimally invasive neurosurgery solve back pain? To identify the most suitable therapeutic option, it is first of all important to recognize the source that causes back pain. Those who suffer from disc disease and herniated discs are usually the youngest patients, from 20 to 40 years old. In these cases, neuromicrosurgery is the procedure of choice, and the minimally invasive nature of the surgery consists not so much in the small size of the cuts, but rather in the small portion of bone and ligament tissue on which the vertebral neurosurgeon operates. Whenever possible, this option is to be preferred over endoscopic surgery, because it is associated with less neural damage and, therefore, a reduction in post-operative pain. BACK PAIN, ARTHRODESIS FOR SPONDYLOLISTHESIS The case of arthrodesis is different, as is necessary in spondylolisthesis. Patients with these pathologies are people aged at least 65-70 years, and in selected cases it is possible to intervene with decompression associated with instrumented fixation. It is a spinal neurosurgery intervention that aims to obtain the stabilization of the spine and possibly the decompression of the nervous structures. To obtain these results, it is possible to resort to the percutaneous insertion of the latest generation devices which are used to restore the correct realignment of the affected vertebrae. The operation is guided by the intraoperative CT scan which helps the vertebral neurosurgeon as a sort of "GPS". BACK PAIN AND IF THE PAIN IS CAUSED BY A VERTEBRAL FRACTURE - THE TREATMENTS
Still different options are required for back pain caused by fractures; depending on the severity of the fracture, the specialist will indicate a conservative approach, suggesting the use of corsets or collars, or a minimally invasive vertebral neurosurgery treatment, associated with instrumented fixation.
To summarize, minimally invasive neurosurgery is not always the most suitable option, the neurosurgeon will choose the best solution for each patient.
BACK PAIN AND VERTEBRAL NEUROSURGERY. MICROSURGERY Microsurgery allows a better view of the operating field, and therefore greater precision on the part of the surgeon. When we talk about microsurgery we still have to think of a very very small field of work and therefore these interventions must be performed by a neurosurgeon with extensive experience behind him.
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