It is a procedure whose purpose is to solve problems and structural damage to the spine, caused by accidents, excessive efforts and incorrect postures that cause chronic pain, limit movement, and can be incapacitating for the patient.
Once conservative treatments have been performed without positive results, surgery is the indicated option to compensate for the symptoms and give the patient an adequate quality of life.
There are several types of spine surgery, each with a different purpose depending on the type of injury or anomaly:
- Fusion: as its name indicates, it is about merging or unifying two bone structures. It is indicated for scoliosis, osteoarthritis, and stenosis.
- Disc implant: it is preferred over fusion when the patient is a candidate for this procedure.
- Discectomy: the disc hernia is removed to avoid compression of the affected nerve.
- Laminectomy: consists of enlarging the bony structure that covers the vertebrae to eliminate compression.
Before and after surgery:
The patient needs to be hospitalized one day before the procedure to undergo anesthetic tests, a physical examination, and to finalize the details of the preoperative process.
The patient should not ingest food or water for at least 15 hours before surgery. Although no special preparation is required, it is necessary to be prepared for a long and difficult recovery process.
At the end of the surgery, you will have to stay in the hospital for 3 to 5 days so that the doctor can monitor your evolution and, when appropriate, discharge you.
Once home, your recovery time will depend on the type of surgery you had:
- In a discectomy and laminectomy, the recovery period is 15 to 20 days.
- In a fusion and disc implant, it can take four to five months to return to your activities and bone healing can take one year or more.
At the Neurological Center, a select group of highly professional and certified doctors in the various neurological specialties are ready to assist you with the quality and warmth that characterizes us.
Our mission is to provide you with comprehensive and multidisciplinary care programs for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of nervous system diseases, always focusing our activities on your safety.
Nervous system specialties
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Spine surgery
- Pediatric neurosurgery
- Neurophysiology
- Neuro-rehabilitation
- Neuro-pathology
- Interventional neuro-radiology
- Neuropsychology
- Neuro-oncology
- Neuro-otology
- Epilepsy
- Neuro-ophthalmology
- Neuroimaging
Related centers and departments:
Fuentes:
- mayoclinic.org
- spine-health.com
- medlineplus.gov
- cun.es
- topdoctors.es
- msdmanuals.com
- medigraphic.com
- Vilchis-Sámano H, Villegas-Esquivel EL, Muñiz-Luna L, et al. Manejo analgésico en cirugía de columna lumbar. Rev Mex Anest. 2019;42(3):205.
- Jiménez-Ávila JM, Sánchez-García O, González-Cisneros AC. Directrices en la decisión del manejo quirúrgico en la cirugía de columna vertebral. Cir Cir. 2019;87(3):299-307.
- Vallejo-Villalobos ML, Rodríguez-Vázquez P, García-Bojorges FJ. Vía aérea en cirugía de columna traumática. Rev Mex Anest. 2019;42 (Supl: 1):133-137.
- Reyes-Sánchez AA, Estrada-Gómez JA, Zarate-Kalfopulus B, et al. Estudio comparativo entre Plate-Graff, Plate-Cage y Peek cage en la fusión de la columna cervical. Acta Ortop Mex. 2018;32(4):203-208.
