Beating Back Pain

As devastating as chronic back pain can be, many people are wary of traditional back surgery. “With traditional spine surgery, we need to make big incisions to reach the spine, and this can cause a lot of trauma,” explains Jeremy Denning, M.D., a neurosurgeon on the medical staff at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano.

Now minimally invasive surgery—where surgeons make small incisions and use scopes to help them see the operating site—is helping patients with back pain.

With these procedures, there’s little or no cutting of the muscle to reach the spine. Patients typically have less pain, less scarring, a faster recovery time, a better outcome and a lower risk of complications.

Minimally invasive surgery might be an option for people with the following conditions who don’t get relief from medication or physical therapy:

Herniated disc: A portion of a spinal disc bulges or ruptures, pinching a nerve in the lower back and causing back or leg pain. With a one-hour operation called a lumbar discectomy, Dr. Denning says there is a good likelihood of decreasing the pain. Patients, who are generally 30 to 55 years old, typically go home that day and recover in four to six weeks.

Spinal stenosis: A combination of arthritis and disc changes, with symptoms such as back pain, difficulty walking, leg pain, weakness or numbness. Surgeons on the medical staff at Baylor Plano can surgically remove the arthritis deposits that are pinching the nerves in an operation called a lumbar laminectomy. Patients often have just a one-inch incision and can go home that same day.
By Stephanie Thurrott

For a referral to a Baylor Plano physician specializing in back problems, call 1-800-4BAYLOR or use our on-line physician directory.