Back pain is a common and often troublesome condition that leads to lost time at work as well as making it difficult to get through simple everyday tasks. It’s one of the most costly medical conditions in the United States.
While back pain is temporary for most Americans, there are still 16 million people who deal with daily limitations because of it. In some situations, back surgery becomes necessary to find relief and a return to normal living.
Sanjay Khurana, MD is an experienced back surgeon specializing in minimally invasive techniques to help free you from back pain while keeping your recovery time as short as possible. When conservative treatment options fail, contact Dr. Khurana.
The bones in your body aren’t meant to come in direct contact with each other. Some joints rely on cartilage covering the ends of bones. In your spine, the discs between vertebrae maintain the distance between bones.
While its natural design and soft support tissues help out, your spine normally maintains good alignment and even spacing between vertebrae. Sometimes though, the positioning of adjacent vertebrae can be lost as the spinal disc no longer keeps the bones apart. This could be due to an accident or it may develop over time.
When one vertebra rests directly on the one beneath it due to this positioning problem, it’s called spondylolisthesis. It won’t always result in pain or other symptoms. In fact, in most cases it doesn’t. However, you could have multiple problems when the misalignment affects nerve tissue.
The most common type of spondylolisthesis is related to aging. Spinal discs lose moisture and thin out over time, making it easier for vertebrae to move out of place. You could have this condition for years without symptoms. Typically, most spondylolisthesis patients are over the age of 50.
Dr. Khurana won’t recommend surgery until after all reasonable conservative treatments fail to relieve your symptoms. When surgery for spondylolisthesis becomes necessary, there are usually two primary goals for the procedure.
The first goal of spondylolisthesis surgery is to relieve the pressure on nerve tissue. This pressure usually comes from three main sources. These include:
The approach to decompression surgery depends on the source you’re experiencing.
After decompression, Dr. Khurana stabilizes the vertebrae at the site. This often takes the form of spinal fusion, connecting adjacent vertebrae so that they fuse and can no longer shift position relative to each other. This prevents further nerve compression in this location.
Whenever possible, Dr. Khurana chooses minimally invasive surgical approaches. These use specially designed tools that work through tiny incisions which are typically less than half an inch long. If scars form, they will be small, unlike open surgery scars which will be several inches long.
The best way to learn more about how spondylolisthesis surgery will affect you is in consultation with Dr. Khurana. You can schedule an appointment by phone or online at the most convenient of his two offices in Marina Del Rey and Manahattan Beach, California. Book your visit today.
