Spinal Fusion
Neurosurgery located in Birmingham, AL
Spinal fusion is a treatment option that offers the chance to relieve pain and improve stability in your spine. The team at Alabama Neurological Surgery & Spine in Birmingham, Alabama, has extensive experience in spinal fusion and many other treatment options. If you’re ready to explore your treatment choices, call the office to book a visit, or schedule online in just a few clicks.
Spinal fusion is a surgical treatment that permanently connects two or more vertebrae within your spine. Normally, your spine consists of a network of bones, cartilage, nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues.
Each joint within your spine works to support the flexibility you rely on each day as you move through the world. However, when joint problems develop, these spaces between each bone can become painful and fail to function properly.
Spinal fusion offers a lasting solution. For people who’ve tried other treatments and failed to achieve the desired results, spinal fusion offers a path toward lasting relief. While a degree of spine flexibility is lost due to spinal fusion, most people still enjoy a wide range of motion within their spine after surgery.
Spinal fusion is an effective treatment option for a wide variety of conditions. In most cases, your practitioner guides you toward less invasive treatment options before considering spinal fusion.
Some of the conditions that lead people to consider spinal fusion include:
If your practitioner believes spinal fusion might be a good fit for your needs, you’ll learn more about what to expect from the procedure and recovery process.
The first step is anesthesia to ensure you rest comfortably from start to finish. Next, your practitioner creates an incision to gain access to your internal tissues. The incision can be in your neck or back, depending on how your surgeon prefers to approach the area.
Next, your practitioner prepares the bone grafts that work to fuse the two vertebrae together. This bone tissue can come from another area of your body or from a bone bank. Your surgeon can use several artificial materials to fuse two bones together.
Your practitioner then places the grafting material in the space between your vertebrae. You might need metal screws or plates to hold the bones in place while the fusion takes place.
While the initial procedure can create some enhanced spine stability, it takes time for your body to adapt to the grafting material and create a strong bond between your bone tissue and the graft.
Learn more during a face-to-face visit, which you can book online or over the phone today.