Laser Spine Surgery
Laser Spine Surgery
What is laser spine surgery?
Laser spinal surgery, or percutaneous laser disc decompression, utilizes an advanced laser machine which uses the heat from the laser to evaporate soft tissues in your spine to decompress areas causing you pain.
How does laser spine surgery work?
The first step is deciding whether or not a patient is a good candidate for laser surgery. Typically, your doctor will talk to you about your symptoms, and what treatments you’ve tried to deal with neck pain or back pain first, then decide the treatment plan from there. If you have persistent back pain that hasn’t been dealt with adequately with pain management, you might be a candidate for laser spine surgery.
Minimally invasive spine surgery
Laser spinal surgery is a minimally invasive spinal surgery due to the nature of the laser device used. The laser can be fed through a thin needle, which is inserted through the back and directly into the spinal disc to start decompression. It’s a quick and relatively painless procedure that leaves no scarring because it doesn’t require incisions. Other surgeries, such as spinal fusion, require large amounts of cutting, and removal of bone, plus hardware installation into your spine. This is why laser surgery is a good approach for those looking at minimally invasive options. Endoscopic spinal surgery is also another minimally invasive surgery, though it uses an endoscope which is a larger tube than what’s used in a laser spine operation, which only uses a very thin needle.
Laser Spine Surgery for a Herniated Disc
Laser spine surgery treats herniated discs up to 70% effectiveness in patients. The laser evaporates the herniated discs’ nucleus, causing the bulging disc portion to recede and relieve compression on your nerves. This should have an immediate relief on your pain, and because of the heat of the laser it can prevent the pain from coming back.
How safe is laser spine surgery?
Laser spine surgery has very low risk of complications, and a large majority of patients experience little to no discomfort at all. Some pain at the needle injection site is the most common side effect.
Where can I get the laser surgery done?
The Laser Spine Center is an innovator in this procedure, and is one of few facilities offering the advanced laser surgery treatment for herniated discs. We have experienced neurosurgeons available for consultations or second opinions now.