1. Pain, numbness, or weakness: These can be persistent and can occur in the back and legs. Nerves can take weeks or months to heal.
2. Bleeding: Excessive bleeding can lead to blood clots or anemia.
3. Spinal fluid leak: This can happen when part of the disc is removed during surgery. Symptoms include headaches and nausea.
4. Epidural fibrosis: Scar tissue can form around the spinal cord or nerve root, causing pain, weakness, or numbness.
5. Blood clots: These can form in the legs and lead to deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.
It is the most common spine surgery performed in the U.S., and it's performed to take pressure off of “pinched” nerves and/or the spinal cord and to stabilize the spine.
1. Spinal Fusion
Also known as spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, this procedure joins two or more vertebrae together to prevent movement and pain.
2. Minimally invasive spine surgery
This procedure involves smaller incisions and the use of a tube. It may lead to faster recovery times than traditional surgery.
3. Robotic spine surgery
This procedure uses GPS-like tracking systems to help the surgeon place hardware.
1. Have a medical checkup and lab tests
2. Review your medications with your surgical team
3. Plan for support after surgery
4. Meet with an anesthesiology team
5. Discuss blood supply options
6. Review your nicotine use and get recommendations
7. Receive instructions on cleansing
8. Fast before the surgery
Spine surgery is a complex and demanding field. Spine surgeons face the additive challenges of providing adequate learning opportunities for trainees, educating and informing patients, and all while being attuned to the specifics of individual patient anatomy. to prevent serious complications. With the ability to produce accurate spine models using various substrates while incorporating artificial physiology, 3D printing in spine surgery offers to improve communication and delivery of care. With easy access to printers, materials and personnel hospitals and health services can create cost-effective models that will enhance learning, improve surgical planning and ultimately operative outcomes.