For patients experiencing back or neck pain that cannot be relieved or controlled through pain management and rehabilitative techniques, spine surgery may be indicated to improve function and restore quality of life. “In many cases, when six to eight weeks of non-operative treatment has not yielded adequate improvement, surgical care is highly successful,” says Oren Blam, M.D., spine surgeon at Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland. Spine surgery at OACM can involve various techniques, from open surgery to minimally invasive and innovative procedures. Two of these surgical procedures include ACDF and lumbar laminectomy.
What is ACDF?
ACDF is a surgical procedure performed for patients experiencing neck and arm pain when a nerve in the neck is being pinched. Disk herniations and bone spurs are common causes of such pinched nerves in the neck and usually are the result of a degenerative, or arthritic, process but can sometimes be due to an injury. Your doctor may recommend this procedure if you experience severe neck and arm pain for several weeks to months that cannot be alleviated by pain management techniques such as medication, physical therapy, and sometimes injections.
ACDF is performed under general anesthesia in an operating room. Your OACM surgeon removes the arthritic disk and bone spurs to make sure the nerves are no longer pinched, and then the vertebrae above and below the disk are stabilized to each other. Many patients can go home the same day to recover over the next few weeks.
Your doctor will determine if you are a candidate for this procedure as well as discuss the benefits and risks associated with the surgery.
About Lumbar Laminectomy
Lumbar laminectomy is a procedure to remove bone, ligament, and/or joint covering the back of the nerves in the low back. This approach allows safe exposure and decompression of the nerves. It also allows access to the disk in case a slipped disk fragment needs to be removed, or in case an unstable and painful spinal segment needs to be stabilized. A lumbar laminectomy can be done with a standard, midline open approach or with a less invasive incision off to one side, in some cases. As with any surgical procedure, your doctor will determine if you are an appropriate candidate as well as discuss the associated benefits and the risks.
For patients who require surgery for spinal conditions, OACM offers the most advanced techniques and technology to restore function, improve quality of life and get you back to enjoying the activities you love. Talk to your OACM physician about all of your back and spine options, both non-surgical and surgical.
More information on spinal surgery and conditions can be found on the OACM website – www.mdbonedocs.com.
