Spinal fusion surgery advices with Dr. Serge Obukhoff? A neurosurgeon is a specially trained medical doctor who diagnoses and treats conditions that affect your nervous system — your brain, spinal cord and nerves. Neurosurgeons perform surgery on your nervous system, but they can also provide nonsurgical treatments. They typically try all nonoperative treatment methods — like medications, steroid injections and physical therapies — before recommending surgery. Neurosurgeons can also diagnose and treat conditions that affect the structures that support your nervous system, including: Your skull. Spinal vertebrae. Spinal disks. Blood vessels. Protective membranes and soft tissues. Find even more information on Serge Obukhoff MD.
What makes this a special place is that, due to its collaborative nature, if someone comes in to see one of our surgeons and that surgeon is not the perfect fit for that person, we can reach across our vast network to find the surgeon that is right for them. We have such a broad range of expertise here we can always find surgeon that is the right fit for each individual. They offers an array of traditional and minimally invasive surgical treatment options for the spine.
Foraminotomy. In this procedure, the surgeon enlarges the bony hole where a nerve root exits the spinal canal to prevent bulging disks or joints thickened with age from pressing on the nerve. Nucleoplasty, also called plasma disk decompression. This laser surgery uses radiofrequency energy to treat people with low back pain associated with a mildly herniated disk. The surgeon inserts a needle into the disk. A plasma laser device is then inserted into the needle and the tip is heated, creating a field that vaporizes the tissue in the disk, reducing its size and relieving pressure on the nerves.
What are the major differences between traditional spine surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery? Traditional open spine surgery involves the complete exposure of the anatomy. In minimally invasive spine surgery we surgically expose less of the anatomy which means, in many cases, an earlier recovery in the first few weeks after surgery. In minimally invasive spine surgery, we often use additional surgical aids, such as intraoperative spinal navigation. This provides the surgeon greater visibility into surgical areas with limited exposure.
Some factors to consider: Many of your options will involve medications such as opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and local anesthetics. Sometimes more than one drug will be taken. This multimodal therapy can improve pain control while limiting opioid use. Opioids should be used with care to avoid addiction and manage side effects, some of which can be life-threatening. Alternative or complementary methods of pain relief that do not involve medicines should also be discussed.