Laser Spine Surgery Vs Spine Fusion Surgery Differences in Treating Back Pain

The most common spine surgeries are laser spine surgery and spine fusion surgery and this article will expound more on the two. Read on.

Spine Fusion Back Pain Treatment
Spinal fusion is a back pain treatment procedure that is conventional and considered by specialists to be fairly invasive. The procedure involves the removal of a small section of bone from the spinal pillar in order to stabilise the affected nerves. The surgeon inserts a stainless steel cage into the patient's bone. By fusing to the new hardware, a strong structure is created that provides more support.

During the procedure, the surgeon usually makes deep incisions within the muscle tissue and skin to facilitate easy performance of the actual procedure. Spinal fusion surgery takes a prolonged recovery period of up to one year. This also requires the patient to stay at the hospital for specialised care. Most spine fusion surgeries are never effective and are known to be traumatic. To be specific, approximately 30% of spine fusion surgeries are unsuccessful. Unfortunately, with the increased risk of complications, individuals cannot undergo the same surgery more than once.

Laser Spine Surgery Back Pain Treatment
Laser spine surgery is a minimally invasive procedure since the incisions done are usually lesser than a quarter of an inch. This procedure is effective with less than 24 hour hospital stay if necessary.

The procedure is less complicated as it does not involve removal of a section of the bone. The surgeon only uses micro-surgery techniques to tackle the real root cause of pain. A local anaesthetic agent that is less strong is usually used on patients so as to enable mobility recovery within days.

Unlike the spine fusion surgery, use of smaller incision site in surgery is highly beneficial to the patient. First, the area muscle and skin tissues are kept intact leading to faster recovery, elimination of post-surgery infections and enhanced mobility.

Secondly, since the procedure doesn't involve fusion, the patient can undergo additional surgery if necessary. If fusion is recommended as an option, it can also be performed without any problem.

Thirdly, with the success rate of minimally invasive procedures at 75%, this makes laser spine surgery the ideal choice for people experiencing back pain. Finally, this surgery is cost-effective. Actually, it costs approximately 50% less compared to other conventional spine therapy treatment. This is major because the patient can recover from the comfort of his/her home since patients who undergone the laser spine surgery only stay at most 24 hours in hospital.