Surgical Options for Sacroiliac Joint Pain
In my last blog post, I discussed the symptoms of sacroiliac joint pain, as well as some non-surgical solutions for treating this condition. In this post, let’s look at some surgical options to help sacroiliac joint pain sufferers get on a path to becoming pain-free.
Severe cases of pain that are not addressed by non-surgical solutions may require surgery. In surgery, one or both of the sacroiliac joints may be fused to eliminate any abnormal motion, or to stabilize the joint.
Several techniques exist for treating sacroiliac joint dysfunction surgically. Surgeons typically stabilize the joint by using implants and sometimes instrumentation.
For example, one technique is the iFuse system. During this surgery, triangular shaped titanium rods are placed across the sacroiliac joint. The rods provide stabilization and can give patients a significant reduction in pain. The iFuse procedure uses an implant surface technology to encourage bone growth into these devices. The implant coating and the triangular shape prevent rotation and motion of the SI joint, which hopefully provides long-term stability to the joint.
Another surgical technique for treating sacroiliac joint pain is the Zyga SImmetry system. Two large compression screws are used to stabilize the SI joint in this technique. Surgeons place a device directly into the SI joint to remove soft tissue and prepare the bone for fusion. Then, bone graft can be placed within the joint. Finally, two screws are placed across the joint for stability with the goal of solid fusion of the SI joint.
Both of the above techniques are minimally invasive. To discuss your individual needs and options for treating SI joint pain surgically, please get in touch with Dr. Sharma today.
