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Surgery may be considered if you have back pain from a herniated disk, spinal stenosis, or sciatica that does not respond to medication or physical therapy. Even though surgery is an option for these conditions, treating them without surgery is better whenever possible. In fact, 90% of people with a herniated disk can be treated without surgery.
Laminectomy and laminotomy
Operations that remove a vertebra (laminectomy) or shave off part of a vertebra (laminotomy) may be used if you have spinal stenosis or some other vertebral abnormality pressing on a nerve. This surgery may also be considered to remove a tumor on the spine. Like diskectomy, many people will feel immediate relief after the procedure. However, recurrent back pain is very common.
Diskectomy
This surgical procedure removes the disk that is causing your pain. By doing this, pressure on your spine is relieved. There are now ways to perform this surgery with as little invasion as possible; for example, very small incisions may be used.
| In a diskectomy, part or all of the disk is removed, which reduces pressure on the spinal nerve. |
While there may be an immediate relief from pain following this operation, it is not clear whether this provides any more long-term improvement than treatment with medications, physical therapy, exercise, and the other measures discussed in this guide.
Following the procedure, you may develop scar tissue, which could cause back pain itself. You will only need to be in bed for 3 to 4 days after this surgery. But, it may take 4 to 6 weeks to fully recover.
Spinal fusion
Using hollow threaded cylinders, or a piece of bone from your hip, the surgeon joins two vertebrae together. This may be performed if movement of one or more vertebrae is causing your pain. Spinal stenosis, for example, can cause this type of pain.
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Reviewed By: Fabian Arnaldo, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
