Laser Spine Surgery: Trick or Treat?

, , Back pain, Herniated Disc, News, Spine & Back Health

laser-back-medical1Contrary to popular belief, laser spine surgery is not better than currently accepted surgical techniques when it comes to treating common conditions affecting your spine.

Lasers have been used in medicine since the 1960’s and have proven to be very effective in treating many conditions – for example, LASIK surgery to correct common vision problems or treating certain skin conditions. But due to insufficient evidence,  lasers in spine surgery are not endorsed by most large health authorities like the Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Lasers are more often used as a marketing tool by some clinics that promote “laser spine surgery” as being minimally invasive or noninvasive and risk-free.

There are no well-controlled clinical studies documenting the benefits of laser spine surgery. In fact, in one study comparing percutaneous lumbar laser discectomy (PLLD) with more traditional forms of discectomy (surgical removal of the whole or a part of an intervertebral disc), the results of PLLD were inferior.

The most accepted method to remove a herniated disc in the lumbar spine is to make a small incision, open the spinal canal (a laminotomy), visualize and protect the compressed nerve root and remove the herniated disc material with small mechanical instruments.  Lasers are also ineffective in treating spinal stenosis because lasers cannot cut bone to open the spinal canal or remove bone spurs compressing the nerves.

The key to success in any spinal surgical procedure is an accurate diagnosis and the application of clinically proven procedures performed by qualified, experienced, board certified surgeons.

Learn more about lumbar discectomy surgery.

cervical total disc replacement

Can Artificial Total Disc Replacement in the Neck Prevent Problems at Adjacent Discs?

, Cervical Disc Replacement, Degenerative Discs, Herniated Disc, News, Spine & Back Health

Thursday, October 27, 2016 | Boston, MA, USA

Artificial total disc replacement surgery for painful herniated discs in the neck is an alternative to the traditional treatment of discectomy and fusion.  img_6372

While fusion surgery is generally successful for treating herniated discs in the neck it comes at the expense of lost motion between two vertebra.  Lack of movement  at one disc will increase stress and strain at the adjacent discs.  The disc adjacent to a fusion can degenerate faster and may become painful and require additional surgical intervention.

Dr McConnell recently reported the long term beneficial effects of total disc replacement in the neck at the North American Spine Society Meeting in Boston.  The presentation was entitled:  Motion Preservation at the Operative Level and the Incidence of Symptomatic Adjacent Segment Disease after Treatment with Secure-C or ACDF.  This study followed 380 patients with herniated discs treated with either total disc replacement (Secure-C artificial disc) or fusion to see what happened to the adjacent discs after 7-years.  Of the patients  who had fusion in their neck 17.4% had additional surgery at an adjacent disc while only 4.2% of the patients treated with Secure-C had adjacent disc surgery.  After 7 years, patients treated with fusion surgery in the neck for a herniated disc were 4 times more likely to require surgery at any adjacent disc level then patients treated with an artificial disc.   These results were significant and highlight the benefits of total disc replacement in helping to prevent accelerated degeneration of adjacent discs and the importance of maintaining normal motion in the neck.

 

Read more about cervical total disc replacement.

 

Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting

, News, Spine & Back Health

Tuesday, September 29, 2015 | New Orleans, Louisiana

At this leading scientific meeting on spinal surgery, Dr. McConnell presented the results of a clinical study involving the Prestige-LP cervical disc arthroplasty device. The FDA investigational device exemption (IDE) clinical trial compared the Prestige-LP total disc device to replace two consecutive discs in the neck versus the traditional surgery of two level disc fusion. At 5-year follow-up, patients who received the Prestige-LP two level artificial disc replacement achieved superior overall clinical results when compared to the fusion patients.

 

Click here to learn more about cervical disc replacement >>

Dr McConnell presented the study results during the Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves Neurosurgical Forum section of the meeting and the presentation was selected as Top Poster of the session.

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