ShareThisTypes of back surgery:
-- Diskectomy: Removal of the herniated (or bulging) portion of a disk to relieve inflammation of a nerve.
-- Laminectomy: Removal of bone overlying the spinal canal to relieve nerve pressure caused by spinal stenosis.
-- Fusion: Permanently connects two or more bones in the spine. Occasionally used to treat pain between the vertebrae that can result from an injured disk.
-- Vertebroplasty: Bone cement is injected into compressed vertebrae. Can help stabilize fractures in the spine and relieve pain. In a related procedure called kyphoplasty, a balloonlike device is inflated to raise compressed vertebrae before the bone cement is inserted.
-- Artificial disks: Implanted in the spine as an alternative to fusion surgery. Used to treat pain associated with a degenerated or injured disk.
Source: Mayo Clinic
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
With BACKSURGERYMust credit Minneapolis Star Tribune
