Spine Blog

Degenerative disc disease, frequently referred to as DDD, is a term that describes changes in the spinal disc occurring with age. Let us look at those changes, whether they may be the source of pain, and what treatments are available.

Motion-sparing procedures is one of the current trends in spine surgery and likely will continue to prevail in the future. Among them, the cervical disc replacement is one of the best-developed and studied techniques. Let me give a quick overview of the surgery and who may benefit from it.

Laminectomy is an open surgical procedure that removes the lamina, a thin layer of bone that covers the spinal canal. It is done to relieve pressure from the nerves that causes pain, numbness or weakness.

Osteoporosisis a disease that decreases bone quality. It is a silent condition that often goes unrecognized unless it leads to fractures. Due to this risk, appropriate screening is needed. If a fracture has occurred, it may require surgical treatment.

Spinal decompression is removal of pressure from the nerve structures in the spine. It may be achieved with or without surgery. Nonsurgical decompression may provide temporary relief of symptoms but if pain persists, surgical decompression may be needed.

I am an orthopedic spine surgeon. Quite often my patients ask what the difference is between my specialty and neurosurgery. Some people assume that all spine surgeons are neurosurgeons. So, is there a difference and if so, what is it?

I regularly hear a question from my patients: “Do you perform laser surgery?” In fact, it happens so often, that I think it is reasonable to address this in a separate blog post.

Do I need surgery? This is a common question that patients ask when they see a spine surgeon. Misunderstandings about the role of surgery in spine care are widespread. They often originate from pervasive TV commercials that promise instant cure of back problems by modern surgical techniques.

The term claudication refers to inability to walk distances because of pain or tiredness in the buttocks and legs. There are two types of claudication: neurogenic and vascular.

As our population is getting older, more patients rely on cardiac-implanted devices. It is common to see these patients in the spine clinic, where advanced imaging is required for accurate diagnosis. Is it safe to use MRI in these patients?

Anterior lumbar interbody fusion is a surgical procedure done through the abdomen to remove a diseased intervertebral disc and replace it with a spacer, thus restoring the disc height, decompressing the nerves, correcting deformity and fusing the vertebrae together in the corrected position.

TLIF of Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion is a traditional open-surgical procedure aimed to remove pressure to the spinal nerves and provide stabilization of the spine bones (vertebrae) when there is abnormal motion between them.

Bulging disc is one of the most common findings on spine imaging, MRI or CT scan. I am often asked if it is the cause of the neck or low back pain and whether it is dangerous and needs to be treated.

Cervical laminoplasty is a surgical procedure that removes pressure from the spinal cord in the neck. It is commonly performed to treat cervical myelopathy, a condition where pressure on the spinal cord produces neurologic changes.

Lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) is a minimally invasive spine (MIS) fusion procedure used to remove pressure from the pinched nerves, realign and stabilize bones in the lower back. It is known under several different names depending on the manufacturer of the equipment, including LLIF, XLIF, DLIF.

ACDF is one of the most commonly performed spine surgeries. It is a surgical procedure done from the front of the neck (hence, anterior), during which the surgeon removes the abnormal disc (discectomy) and fuses the bones using a spacer, plate, and screws.