Carroll Hospital Center and its team of orthopaedic specialists understand how debilitating chronic back or leg pain caused by spinal problems can be. When more conservative treatments are not addressing your pain or limited activity, we often can perform a minimally invasive spine procedure to help you recover more quickly with less pain and scarring.
Our minimally invasive spine procedures include:
- XLIF (Lumbar Interbody Fusion) — an advanced procedure that accesses the lumbar (lower) spine from the side of the body, instead of the front or back, providing less disruption to muscles, ligaments, blood vessels and organs. Surgeons use a few small incisions to remove a herniated disc and insert an implant to hold the vertebrae in place. Patients typically can walk the night after surgery and can be discharged within a few days.
- AxiaLIF® — this minimally invasive procedure treats chronic lower back (lumbar) pain by fusing and stabilizing the affected vertebrae while sparing muscles, nerves and soft tissue. The orthopaedist makes a small incision at the sacral bone (the “tailbone” or tip of the spine), removes the diseased disc and replaces it with bone growth material. Patients have shorter hospital stays (usually the day after surgery) and return to their daily activities more quickly.
- X-Stop Spacer for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS) — degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis can cause pain, weakness or numbness in the lower back and legs, limiting many normal activities. This exciting new X-Stop Spacer treatment works by inserting a small implant between the vertebrae where the nerve is being pinched, without fusing the spine or attaching to bone or ligaments. Patients usually experience rapid pain relief and quickly resume activities. Talk to your doctor to find out if this procedure is appropriate for you.
- Microdiscectomy — this procedure removes the herniated disc or bone fragments that are impinging on a spinal nerve and causing pain that radiates down into the legs It allows the nerve to heal and symptoms to resolve.
- Vertebroplasty — a minimally invasive spinal surgery procedure used to treat painful, progressive vertebral compression fractures, which are typically caused by osteoporosis or cancer. Guided by imaging, the surgeon inserts a hollow needle into the affected area and injects special bone cement into the bone to stabilize it and decrease or eliminate the pain.
- Kyphoplasty — a procedure similar to vertebroplasty except that, prior to injecting the special bone cement, the orthopaedist inserts and inflates a balloon device to restore the space between the vertebrae. He then fills the space with a special cement to preserve this space. Patients typically go home the same day.
We also perform a wide range of more traditional “open” spine procedures, which are more appropriate for many patients. These include:
- Cervical Disc Replacement — an artificial disc is inserted into the affected area of the neck to treat a herniated disc or bone fragments that are causing chronic neck pain and/or arm pain, weakness and numbness. The disc may provide better movement and faster return to normal activities than a cervical fusion.
- Discectomy — this procedure removes a herniated disc to relieve pain and other symptoms caused by its pressure on the nerves in the spinal cord. When you are not a candidate for less invasive procedures, your orthopaedist may advise a traditional approach.
- Spinal Fusions — when more conservative measures are not working, orthopaedic surgeons may perform this procedure, which stabilizes a portion of the spine that has been seriously weakened by infection, tumor, scoliosis, injury, or other problems. The affected vertebrae are fused using bone grafts, rods and screws.
For a physician referral, click here or call 410-871-7000.