What is spinal decompression surgery?

Asked by: Kayla Campbell

Decompression surgery (laminectomy) opens the bony canals through which the spinal cord and nerves pass, creating more space for them to move freely. Narrowing / stenosis of the spinal and nerve root canals can cause chronic pain, numbness, and muscle weakness in your arms or legs.

What is the recovery time for spinal decompression surgery?

It will take about 4 to 6 weeks for you to reach your expected level of mobility and function (this will depend on the severity of your condition and symptoms before the operation). When you wake up after lumbar decompression surgery, your back may feel sore and you’ll probably be attached to 1 or more tubes.

How is spinal decompression surgery performed?

The surgeon makes an incision (cut) over the affected section of spine down to the lamina (bony arch of your vertebra), to access the compressed nerve. The nerve will be pulled back towards the centre of the spinal column and part of the bone or ligament pressing on the nerve will be removed.

How painful is spinal decompression surgery?

Lumbar decompression is usually carried out under general anaesthetic, which means you’ll be unconscious during the procedure and won’t feel any pain as it’s carried out. The whole operation usually takes at least an hour, but may take much longer, depending on the complexity of the procedure.

What are the risks of spinal decompression surgery?

Like all surgical procedures, lumbar decompression surgery carries some risk of complications.

• Recurrent or continuing symptoms. …
• Infection. …
• Blood clots. …
• Dural tear. …
• Leakage of cerebrospinal fluid. …
• Facial sores and loss of vision. …
• Nerve injury and paralysis. …
• Death.

What is the success rate of spinal decompression?

What is the success rate of spinal decompression? Most research has shown spinal decompression to be successful in 71% to 89% of patients. More than 10 different research studies have been conducted with all of them showing good results for patients treated with spinal decompression.

How do you sit on the toilet after back surgery?

Use an elevated toilet seat or commode to raise the level of the toilet. Do NOT lean over your legs while sitting. 2. Wear your brace while using the bathroom.

What type of doctor does nerve decompression surgery?

Who performs spinal decompression surgery? An orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon may perform spinal decompression surgery. Orthopedic surgeons specialize in the medical and surgical treatment of musculoskeletal problems. This includes conditions affecting the muscles, bones, and connective tissue of the spine.

How successful is lumbar decompression surgery?

Lumbar Microdiscectomy



The surgery has a relatively high success rate – about 90-95% – in providing relief of leg pain and/or buttock pain. Often, the pain relief is instant and patients wake up after the surgery feeling marked relief of their leg pain.

How can I decompress my spine at home?

Back into the middle back and then into the lower. Back only go to your comfort. Level you want to do nice slow controlled breathing while doing this and hold up to 30 seconds.

What is the cost of lumbar decompression surgery?

The average cost for spinal decompression surgery in the United States is $23,500. No matter which type of spinal surgery you get, actual prices can vary greatly depending on your specific procedure.

Why you should avoid back surgery?

If things go south, some of the potential complications of back surgery can include an adverse reaction to anesthesia, bleeding, infection, deadly blood clots that can circulate to the heart or lungs, heart attack, stroke, and nerve damage.

How much does nerve decompression surgery cost?

RESULTS: The mean cost of peripheral nerve decompression surgery was $10,303 with an effectiveness of 7.06, whereas the mean cost of long-term, targeted BoNTA was $36,071 with an effectiveness of 6.34. Decompression surgery is more effective and less costly over the time horizon of the model.

What happens if you dont treat nerve damage?

But sometimes, nerve damage can be permanent, even if the cause is treated. Long-term (chronic) pain can be a major problem for some people. Numbness in the feet can lead to skin sores that do not heal. In rare cases, numbness in the feet may lead to amputation.

How effective is decompression therapy?

Reviews of recent popular medical literature revealed that the clinical results of Spinal Decompression Therapy have been effective in over 75% of the people receiving this treatment and most patients find long-term relief and effective management of their pain upon completion of the entire program of treatments.

Is nerve decompression surgery covered by insurance?

Some chiropractors state that spinal decompression is covered by many health insurance plans. For example, Orange County Spinal Decompression[2] in California states that insurance usually covers the procedure, including some plans from Blue Shield, Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare and Humana.

Does Medicare cover decompression therapy?

Although Medicare does not consider certain spinal decompression therapies to be a payable service, some Medicare patients request or demand you bill for denial purposes. HCPCS code S9090 is another procedure code that some carriers may require for payment or to provide notification of patient financial liability.

What is occipital nerve decompression surgery?

During nerve decompression surgery, the occipital nerves are carefully freed from the muscle, fascia, scar tissue or blood vessels that are causing compression of the nerve. This type of outpatient surgery typically takes less than two hours and most patients go home the same day.

How much is TN surgery?

The cost per quality adjusted pain-free year was $6,342 for glycerol rhizotomy, $8,174 for microvascular decompression, and $8,269 for stereotactic radiosurgery, according to Pollock and Ecker.

How do neurologists treat nerve pain?

Multimodal therapy (including medicines, physical therapy, psychological counseling and sometimes surgery) is usually required to treat neuropathic pain. Medicines commonly prescribed for neuropathic pain include anti-seizure drugs such as: Gabapentin (Neurontin®).

What is neuralgia pain?

Neuralgia is a stabbing, burning, and often severe pain due to an irritated or damaged nerve. The nerve may be anywhere in the body, and the damage may be caused by several things, including: aging. diseases such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis.

How successful is microvascular decompression surgery?

MVD is highly successful in treating trigeminal neuralgia (95% effective) with a relatively low risk of pain recurrence (20% within 10 years). The major benefit of MVD is that it causes little or no facial numbness compared to percutaneous stereotactic rhizotomy (PSR).

What are the side effects of microvascular decompression surgery?

These include:

• Infection.
• Hearing loss, facial numbness or facial weakness (usually temporary side effects)
• Spinal fluid leak.
• Excessive bleeding.
• Difficulty with speech or swallowing.
• Stroke or hemorrhage (very rare)

How safe is microvascular decompression?

Microvascular decompression is an invasive procedure, and while safe in expert hands, does have potential rare/infrequent risks, including: Infection. Hearing loss, facial numbness, and/or facial weakness (usually temporary, rarely permanent)

Can you have microvascular decompression surgery twice?

The results of the present study demonstrated that repeat surgery can still achieve an excellent outcome in patients with persistent or recurrent pain after MVD.

What is the long term prognosis for trigeminal neuralgia?

Results: Complete response at last follow-up in our patients was 81%, with an excellent response while off medication in 52%. Pain-free rates without medication (class I) were 85% at 3 years (confidence interval [CI]: 78%-94%), 81% at 5 years (CI: 72%-91%), and 76% at 7 years (CI: 65%-90%).

Can tn be cured?

Although trigeminal neuralgia cannot always be cured, there are treatments available to alleviate the debilitating pain. Normally, anticonvulsive medications are the first treatment choice.