Surgical Options

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Typically, spine surgery is performed after other nonsurgical treatment has been tried and has not helped alleviate pain associated with your back problem. If medications and physical therapy are not effective, then surgery may be considered if the exact source of your pain can be identified, such as a herniated disk or spinal stenosis.

Your doctor may recommend one of the following surgical options for alleviating back pain and fixing the underlying cause:

• Disc replacement
• Lumbar laminectomy (shave bone to relieve excess pressure on spinal nerves)
• Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) - surgery that approaches the spine from the front of the body to remove disc or bone from between the lumbar vertebrae. This procedure may be performed as minimally invasive surgery.
• Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) - surgery that approaches the spine from the back to place bone graft between two vertebrae. The procedure may be performed as minimally invasive surgery.
• Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) - a variation of the posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) that provides 360-degree fusion.
• Cervical corpectomy - surgery to remove vertebral bone and intervertebral disc material to relieve pressure on the spinal cord and spinal nerves in the neck.
• Anterior cervical discectomy with fusion (ACDF) - surgery to relieve the pressure placed on nerves or the spinal cord by a herniated disc or bone spurs in the neck.