Spine Fusion Surgery Treatment in India

The Spine Fusion Surgery Unit at our network BLK-Max Hospital provides quality medical care to patients suffering from chronic disorders related to spine vertebrae. We strive to provide the best in class treatment to every patient under our care with a personalised treatment plan.

Our experienced multidisciplinary team of surgeons ensures that each patient under our care has access to the best possible, consistent and safe treatment and post-surgery care under one roof. The centre upholds the most stringent standards in hygiene, safety and patient care.

What is Spine Fusion Surgery?

Spinal fusion surgery is a minimally invasive surgical process that is performed to correct problems with vertebrae (the small bones in the spine). The surgery involves the fusion of two or more vertebrae into one single structure and aims to prevent back pain. Once the vertebrae are fused and movement between the two bones is stopped, the patient does not experience discomfort from stretching of nearby nerves, ligaments, and muscles.

Spinal fusion can be done one of two ways.

• Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion: The doctor approaches the patient’s spine from the front, through the lower abdomen.
• Posterior Fusion: The doctor approaches the patient spine from the back.

Indicators For Spine Fusion Surgery

The major indicators that reflect the need for spine fusion surgery are:

• Loss of flexibility and movement
• Chronic pain in the back, legs, neck and shoulder
• Experiencing utter discomfort while lying down or sitting in the same position
• Visible deformity in the spine
• Inability to perform daily activities
• Stiffness in the spine

Conditions Treated Under Spine Fusion Surgery

Some of the major conditions we treat include:

• Degenerative disk disease (narrowing of space between disks)
• Fractured vertebra (broken spinal bone)
• Scoliosis (abnormal curving of the spine to one side)
• Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
• Spondylolisthesis (forward shifting of a spinal disk)
• Infection
• Herniated disk
• Tumour

Are You a Candidate For Spine Fusion Surgery?

Spine fusion surgery is the most advanced surgical process that is performed when other treatment options for people suffering from severe spinal disorders fail. You are a candidate for minimally invasive spine fusion surgery if:

Non-surgical treatments do not effectively reduce symptoms of spinal disorder. These treatments include

• Medications
• Physical therapy
• Spinal injections

A patient must talk to a doctor or spine specialist about his/her pain and symptoms in detail along with the outcomes of different treatments tried by him/her. After evaluating all considerations, your doctor may advise you to undergo surgical treatment to treat the pain.

Diagnostic Tests Required Before Spine Fusion Surgery

Some of the diagnostic tests that your doctor might ask you to take for evaluation of your current medical condition, which involves:

• Physical examination:
  • Reflexes
  • Muscle strength
  • Range of motion
  • Sensitivity to touch
  • Walking ability
  • Possibility of tender regions in the back
• X-ray
• MRI
• CT
• Electromyelogram (EMG)
• Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS)

Spine Fusion Surgery Procedure

Preoperative

Before proceeding with the surgery, the doctors have to make sure that the patient is fit for the procedure. The patient has to undertake certain tests and screening process for the evaluation purpose. The doctor may prescribe certain medications to the patient, a week or two before the surgery, to avoid any sort of infection during or after the surgery.

A patient will receive general anaesthesia before moving to the operation theatre and will sleep through the surgical procedure.

Operative

• Step 1: The doctor will make a small incision near the affected area, either in the neck or back (over the spine), either side of your spine, lower abdomen, or throat.
• Step 2: The doctor gain access to the vertebrae being fused and use bone grafts to fuse two vertebrae surgically. The bone graft can be harvested from the patient’s pelvis or may come from a bone bank.

If the patient is the donor himself/herself, then the doctor collects it surgically by making an incision above the pelvic bone, removes a small portion of it and then closes the incision. The other option to get the bone graft is from the bone bank or another donor.

• Step 3: The doctor then fuses the two vertebrae permanently using the bone graft material. The bone graft is placed surgically with the help of metal plates, screws, or rods.
• Step 4: The doctor closes the incisions with sutures and covers them with surgical tape.

Postoperative

After the operation, the patient has to get admitted in the recovery room for monitoring purposes, from where the doctor transfers him/her to the ICU. The patient has to stay in an ICU for a day or two after and is then asked to shift to a normal ward, where he/she has to stay until he/she gets fit for discharge.

After Spine Fusion Surgery Precautions

The important precautionary measures one must consider after the treatment are:

• Do not lift anything heavier or drive a vehicle for around 3 weeks after the surgery
• Avoid bending, lifting or twisting your back
• No strenuous activity such as yard work or housework
• Do not indulge in sexual activities
• Do not drink alcohol or smoke
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Take all your medicines on time
• Visit your doctor often for check-ups

Benefits of Spine Fusion Surgery

The minimally invasive spine fusion surgery includes the following advantages:

• Small incision
• Minimal scar tissue formation
• Short recovery
• High success rate
• Minimal blood loss
• Preservation of spinal mobility
• Local anaesthesia
• Less hospital stay
• Same-day surgery

Spine Fusion Surgery Complications

Some of the risk factors associated with minimally invasive Spine Fusion Surgery include:

• Bleeding
• Blood clots
• Infection
• Pain
• Risks from anaesthesia

These risk factors are very mild and usually reversible with the help of some medication.
Other potential risk factors include:

• Nerve injury
• Pseudoarthrosis (in the case when fusion doesn’t work)
• Donor bone graft complications like
• Infection
• Tissue rejection

A patient can help prevent these risk factors by watching for the warning signs, such as

• Swelling or redness
• Drainage by your wound
• Fever over 100 degrees F
• Increased pain
• Shaking chills

However, if the patient experiences these symptoms for a longer duration then he must see a doctor immediately.