Lumbar Disc Replacement Surgery: Dr Arun Rajeswaran
Lower back pain is one of the most prevalent health issues impacting millions of individuals worldwide. Lower back discomfort is most prevalent between the ages of 20 and 64. Nevertheless, your spine specialist may recommend traditional treatment based on your condition. If non-surgical treatment fails to alleviate the patient’s chronic back discomfort, surgery may be a viable choice. In the majority of instances, disc replacement surgery is advised.
What is Disc Replacement of the Lumbar Spine?
As spinal discs degenerate, they may become painful, thereby limiting function and diminishing patients’ quality of life. Lumbar disc replacement (TDR, commonly known as an artificial disc) surgery is among the most recent developments in spine surgery. This operation is only suggested after extensive non-surgical treatments have failed to give considerable pain relief. TDR is most frequently used to treat painful disc degeneration or rupture.
Dr Arun Rajeswaran has strict patient selection standards to ensure your success. You are not a candidate if you have significant facet arthritis, osteoporosis, instability, a history of posterior lumbar surgery, abdominal/pelvic/colon surgery, or abdominal/pelvic radiation in the past.
What Conditions Does Lumbar Disc Replacement Treat?
Primarily for individuals with degenerative disc disease, typically at a single level, as this is the only condition covered by insurance companies. To be eligible, these patients must possess and meet certain requirements. Some of the most fundamental requirements include having normal bone density to sustain the artificial disc. The facet joints and small connective joints must be normal, and the spine must not be unstable or misshapen.
What Can I Anticipate During a Lumbar Disc Replacement?
In advance of a lumbar disc replacement, a bone density scan will be performed. This is a straightforward study in which a non-radioactive scanning counter goes over your body to measure the amount of calcium in your bones. You will receive standard pre-operative blood testing to ensure that there are no signs of infection. During surgery, a small incision will be made on the front of your lower abdomen, either vertically or laterally. During the procedure, we do not enter through the stomach, but rather we enter through the stomach wall and pull the organ-containing sac across the front of the spine. Many individuals believe that all organs must be moved through the stomach. No muscles are cut, and we again adhere to the typical tissue planes of the body.
Therefore, once the surgeon removes the defective disc and replaces it with a custom-made artificial disc in terms of size, height, and angle, the majority of patients return home the following day. The recovery is contingent on the reappearance of bowel noises. A patient may be required to remain an additional day in the hospital if the bowels do not resume their regular peristalsis or squeezing activity immediately after the operation. In general, patients can walk the day following surgery and are frequently discharged on the same day. After two weeks of wearing a tiny corset for wound healing, they return to their doctor and begin physical therapy.
The only limits they have are not arching their backs backwards and not jogging, which creates impact loading and may break the micro-connections between the bone and prostheses. The patient is released to full activities at the end of the three months but will return to non-labouring work in two weeks. Recovery after an artificial disc is, in many ways, comparable to that of a Minimally Invasive Lumbar Fusion.
What To Anticipate Following The Procedure?
We do recommend a recommended period of rest after surgery, followed by a gradual increase in activity under the direction of your physicians. During the healing period, you will also be instructed to wear a back brace for further support.
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