Making severe back and leg pain vanish
with minimally invasive surgery
hile most back pain gets better on its own or with treatments like physical therapy, yoga, and over-the-counter pain medicines, sometimes surgery is the only way to find relief. “If symptoms are getting worse instead of better after trying conservative therapy for a few months, we talk about fixing the problem surgically,” says Paul Stanton, DO, an orthopedic surgeon and spine specialist at Penrose-St. Francis Total Joint and Spine Center who completed a fellowship in spine surgery. Back and leg pain together usually means there’s a problem with the discs (the rubbery cushions separating the spinal bones) or nerves that won’t heal without surgery. The discs sometimes wear out enough to cause severe, worsening pain, or tilt and make the back curve. Other times the nerves in the back get pinched, causing leg pain that won’t go away. Less pain, faster recovery These problems can be fixed with minimally invasive
spine surgery, where surgeons use special instruments and technologies to operate through small incisions. “We don’t have to damage the soft tissues around the spine. That means significantly less pain and a much shorter recovery,” Stanton says. Patients are usually in the hospital just one or two nights after minimally invasive spine surgery, compared to a few days plus up to a week in a rehabilitation center after traditional surgery. They also can go back to normal activities a few weeks faster. To relieve pain from disc wear and tear (degenerative disc disease, herniated disc, or spinal stenosis), the surgeon trims the disc or the bone near the nerves. To realign and stabilize a slipped or curved spine (spondylolisthesis, or adult or degenerative scoliosis), the surgeon straightens and connects (or fuses) two or more bones in the spine using bone grafts and metallic implants. Spine surgery is no longer as difficult for patients as it used to be, says Stanton. “With minimally invasive spine surgery, we can get the same job done with a lot less discomfort to the patients.”
Learn More Join Dr. Paul Stanton, orthopedic surgeon, for a FREE seminar and learn when it’s time to get spinal surgery and how to know if you’re a candidate for minimally invasive surgery, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 6-8 p.m. in the St. Francis Medical Center auditorium located in the NorthCare Building, 6071 East Woodmen Road. Register at penrosestfrancis.org/spineseminar.
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Fall 2013
Checklist for spine surgery
It may be time to consider spine surgery if: ✓ Pain medicines (like Tylenol®, Motrin®, or Aleve®) and conservative treatment like physical therapy don’t relieve your pain ✓ Both the back and the leg hurt, the pain is getting worse despite treatment, or you have weakness ✓ It is hard to stand up straight because you are tilted forward or to the side When considering spine surgery: ✓ Get an accurate diagnosis of the cause of the pain ✓ See a spine surgeon who: - Does all types of spine surgeries - Has training in minimally invasive spine surgery ✓ Ask the surgeon about: - The types of surgery available for the problem - How likely it is that the surgery will relieve the pain - The risks of the procedure - What the recovery will be like - Alternatives to surgery
Penrose-St. Francis Health Services