Minimally Invasive Solution: Lumbar Spinal Fusion

When Is Lumbar Fusion Needed?

The lumbar spine bears much of the body’s weight. When instability or degeneration develops, movement between vertebrae can become painful and compress nearby nerves.

Lumbar fusion may be considered for conditions such as:

• Degenerative disc disease
• Spondylolisthesis
• Spinal instability
• Recurrent disc herniation
• Chronic lower back pain unresponsive to treatment

Common Symptoms

Patients who may benefit from lumbar fusion often experience:

• Persistent lower back pain
• Pain that worsens with movement or standing
• Leg pain, numbness, or weakness
• Difficulty walking or maintaining posture
• Limited response to conservative treatments

Lumbar Fusion Surgery

Lumbar fusion works by permanently joining two or more vertebrae to eliminate painful motion. Lumbar Spinal Fusion is the process in which a surgeon will create an incision and use screws to fuse the vertebrae bones together, so that they may grow in properly. Sometimes it is required to remove invertebrate discs or bone spurs in order to properly alleviate pain. In addition, there is also minimally invasive lumbar spinal fusion, which consists of smaller incisions and less soft tissue damage resulting in a speedier healing process.

Although this is fairly new technology, minimally invasive lumbar spinal fusion is already yielding great results and new advances in the medical community, such as the ability to perform fusion surgery through the patient’s side. There are several techniques that allow the surgeon to make a small incision, approximately 2 inches in the patient’s side, directly over the planned fusion site. This is a huge advancement, as it places the burden of recovery on the patient’s side and abdomen region and off the back, providing more mobility.

More advantages of this new and exciting treatment is:

• Less Muscle Damage: Traditional Spinal Surgery requires the surgeon to cut through soft tissues and muscles in order to reach the spine while minimally invasive techniques allows the muscles to be gently pushed out of the way during operation
• Less Blood Loss: Because the size of the invasions are typically small, minimally invasive procedures usually incur less blood loss than traditional surgeries, and as a result have less need for blood transfusions and lowers the risks of infection.

Modern fusion techniques may involve:

• Removal of damaged disc material
• Placement of a cage or bone graft to promote fusion
• Use of pedicle screws and rods for stability
• Minimally invasive approaches to limit muscle disruption

Watch video: Dr. Mudit Sharma explains minimally invasive Lumbar Fusion Surgery.

Here at Virginia Spine Specialists we like to focus on ways to cure and treat something as common as lower back pain, with the most minimally invasive solution possible. Since the lumbar region is the area where majority of the population experiences back pain and discomfort, it would make sense to offer ways to treat this pain while not imposing a major inconvenience or lengthy recovery for the patient. One way in particular to do that is through Lumbar Spinal Fusion.