Often, when you have lower back pain, you can treat it with rest, medication, and exercise. However, when your lower back pain is serious and affecting your daily life, you may need surgery for treatment.
Orthopedic surgeons can perform several types of surgery for lower back pain depending on the cause and severity of the pain. Take a look below at some of the more frequently performed types of lower back pain operations our surgeons to perform at the Florida Spine and Joint Institute.
Common types of lower back surgery
- Spinal fusion — Spinal fusion is a procedure that aims to join two or more vertebrae together. This can reduce pressure off the nerves in your spinal canal caused by conditions like herniated discs. It may also be used to treat fractures.
- Laminectomy — Arthritis, herniated discs, and other conditions can cause the spinal canal to grow more narrow, which puts pressure on the nerves in the spine. A laminectomy aims to remove a portion of your lamina, which is the part of your vertebrae that covers the spinal canal. Removing a portion of the lamina can help relieve some of the pressure off the nerves caused by these conditions.
- Microdiscectomy — Surgeons may perform a microdiscectomy when a herniated disc is putting pressure on the nerves in your spine. The goal of this procedure is to remove a portion of the damaged disc to reduce pressure off the nerves.
- Total disc replacement — Surgeons may perform total disc replacement if you have a herniated disc in your lower back. In this procedure, the surgeon removes the entire disc and replaces it with an artificial disc.
- Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty — When there are microfractures in the spine, surgeons may perform kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty. Surgeons use vertebroplasty to glue the microfractures back together with bone cement. In cases of more severe microfractures, they will also use kyphoplasty. This procedure uses a balloon to widen the gap of the fracture so more bone cement can fill up the empty space.
Visit the iRISE Spine and Joint Institute for lower back surgery
Do you have sudden or long-lasting pain in your back that’s affecting your quality of life? Our surgeons at the iRISE Spine and Joint Institute may be able to help you. Contact our team today for more information about lower back surgery or to schedule an initial appointment.
