Incredible Procedure Known As Laser Laminectomy
Posted on June 2, 2008
Filed Under Back Pain |
2.4 million Americans suffer from chronic back pain according to the center for disease control. The costs incurred to treat back pain are approximately $75 billion either directly or indirectly. Back pain is common next to flue in America debilitating and results in loss of work and income.
Emotional and physical stress is experienced by an individual suffering from chronic back pain. It’s the type of pain that can last for a lifetime, if surgical intervention is recommended by trained physicians. Pain killers, analgesics, and steroidal applications just help in suppressing the symptoms of this chronic condition. Laser laminectomy is the latest and most advanced procedure used to reduce the pain of chronic back pain sufferers. Laminectomy is a procedure which is performed on the vertebra which results in either a partial or complete removal of the lamina. Lamina is the wing like structure / part of the vertebra. Back bone is also called vertebrae in medical terms. The spinal cord traverses through the vertebra.
Spinal stenosis is a condition when patients suffer from severe back pain. Spinal stenosis is a condition, where the affected spinal cord nerves are compressed. The common causes of spinal stenosis are injury, aging or a tumor. The procedure of surgical laminectomy was pioneered by Victor Alexander Haden Horsley in 1887. This procedure attempts to completely or partially remove or shape the spinal disc to treat conditions like herniated disc.
The most commonly observed symptom of patients is chronic low back pain which further leads to immobility and feeling of anguish. The current method of treating the low lumbar back pain caused by herniated discs is by surgery or use of pain killers. An invasive procedure is recommended in order to prevent suffering and emotional stress. The procedure is done under general anesthesia. The patient first needs to be admitted to a hospital and a small incision is made at the back under anesthesia to perform laminectomy.
Also an alternate procedure of treatment would be by laser laminectomy. Herniated discs are also commonly known as “Slipped disc”. Herniation disc occurs when the nerves around the spine are directly affected by the bulging inter vertebral disc. This causes pain on the left and right side of the lower back. The aim of surgical laminectomy procedure is to relieve the pressure exerted on the nerves around the spinal column; this allows to relieve the pain and allow for physical reduction of the protruding lamina. Patients who have undergone laminectomy have to go through a long recovery phase after surgery. This involves pain mediation, physical therapy and exercise.
Laser laminectomy is a novel and minimally invasive procedure and approach to treating patients suffering from back pain. This condition of Back pain is ancient and can be traced back to ancient Egyptians and Greek times.
Laser laminectomy uses a laser beam to remove part of the nerve or lamina to relive pain in the back. Laser laminectomy can attempt this procedure for herniated discs which is minimally invasive. In surgical laminectomy the patient is put under Anastasia before the procedure is performed. The surgical option is invasive and expensive, has the risk for recurring back pain which may also latter affect the neck.
Treatment for back pain is complicated, costly and chronic. These three C’s, plague Americans, especially the workforce in software research and development. American geriatric population is also affected by chronic back pain and alternative like laser laminectomy needs to be considered as potential treatments.
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