• Provide Comprehensive and
    Technically Excellent
    Neurosurgical Care
    Provide Comprehensive and Technically Excellent Neurosurgical Care
  • Offer Patients
    The Most Upto Date
    Surgical Advances And
    Best Practice Medicine
    Offer Patients The Most Upto Date Surgical Advances And Best Practice Medicine
  • Compassionate and
    Timely Intervention in a
    Setting Respectful of
    Our patients needs
    Compassionate and Timely Intervention in a Setting Respectful of Our patients needs
  • Open Communication With
    Our patients Primary
    Care Providers
    Open Communication With Our patients Primary Care Providers

Lumbar fusion

Spinal fusion, also called arthrodesis, is a surgical technique used to join two or more vertebrae (bones) within the spine. Lumbar fusion technique is the procedure of fusing the vertebrae in lumbar portion of the spine (lower back).

Lumbar fusion surgery may be used to treat, spondylolisthesis (slipping of the spine bones), degenerated discs, scoliosis or kyphosis (abnormal curvature of the spine), spinal infections or tumours, traumatic injury of the spine, recurrent disc herniation, and unstable spine.

The surgery can be done as an open or laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery.

Your surgeon may approach your spine from the back, abdomen, or neck, depending on the area to be treated.

In spinal fusion, a piece of bone, taken from other parts of the body or donated from a bone bank is transplanted between the adjacent vertebrae. Screws, plates, or cages may be used with the bone graft to help hold the spine.

During the surgery, your surgeon performs a discectomy where a portion of the diseased or damaged disc material is removed. After the removal the roof of the vertebra will be trimmed or removed to relieve the pressure on the nerve and this procedure is called as laminectomy. Following laminectomy, the bone graft (small chips of bone) will be placed alongside of the vertebrae between the vertebrae to be fused. Screws are placed into the vertebrae to be fused. Rods are attached to connect the screws, to stabilize and hold the bones together while the fusion heals.

As with every surgery, lumbar fusion surgery is associated with certain complications and they include:

  • Spine infection
  • Damage to the spinal nerves
  • Loss of sensation
  • Problems with bowel or bladder control
  • Dislocation of the implant
  • Pseudarthrosis, a painful condition occurring as a result of non-healing of the bone effusion, and a false joint grows at the site
  • Blood clot formation in the legs
  • Pain at the bone graft site
  • Cervical spine fusion
  • Cervical spine artificial disc replacement

 

Other Complex Spine Surgery Services

credibilty

  • University of Florida
  • The University of Western Australia
  • The University of Adelaide
  • Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
  • Royal Australasian College of Surgeons: RACS
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