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back pain

Spinal Stenosis Surgery

Spinal stenosis surgery is usually a very invasive operative procedure. Spinal stenosis is a condition which creates impingement of the spinal cord or cauda equina, usually due to advanced degenerative changes in the spine. The diagnosis of this condition is very controversial, since many older patients show the clinical impression of spinal stenosis, but experience no symptoms whatsoever. Other patients show mild stenosis, yet complain of severe chronic back pain.

Spinal Stenosis Surgery

Spinal Stenosis Surgery Procedures

There are several varieties of operation normally performed to treat stenosis conditions in the spine. One of the most common is the laminectomy. This is a procedure which has been used for many years to treat many different spinal conditions. In more recent years, the procedure has been replaced to treat almost every other spinal abnormality, except stenosis. Of all spinal operations, it is often one of the most invasive possible. The procedure can be completed as a full laminectomy or a decompressive laminectomy and either in full open or minimally invasive varieties. The laminectomy procedure is often done in combination with either a foraminotomy and/or a spinal fusion. Enduring a combination laminectomy and fusion is perhaps the most grueling of all spinal surgeries.

Results of Stenosis Surgery

Surgery should always be a last resort option for treating unresolved back pain due to a stenosis condition. Physical stenosis pain usually responds well to more conservative medical treatments, preventing the need for surgical correction in the vast majority of patients. Pain syndromes which have not improved with appropriate conservative treatment demonstrate poor results during surgical correction, as well. The most likely reason for this occurrence is a misdiagnosis of the actual cause of symptoms. Although the stenosis condition might exist in these patients, it is coincidental to the pain and not related to the actual symptoms experienced. Spinal stenosis is a very common back pain scapegoat, especially in elderly patients.

Recommendation on Spinal Stenosis Surgery

Avoiding back surgery is always preferred to enduring the risks and possible complications of an operation. Surgery for stenosis should only be considered after all possible conservative treatment options have been exhausted and the diagnosis is 100% sure. Before proceeding with stenosis surgery, a patient should consider adding knowledge therapy to their treatment routine to eliminate the possibility of a psychogenic contributor to the pain. Most of all, if surgery is truly necessary, make sure to shop around for the least invasive procedure performed by the most experienced surgeon.

Spinal Stenosis Surgery to Back Pain Home 10/17/08 Revised 10/31/09


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