Incredible Procedure Known As Laser Laminectomy
Posted on May 13, 2008
Filed Under Medicines and Remedies |
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.
The individual suffering from back pain has to deal with emotional and chronic physical pain. The pain can be a lifetime experience, unless surgical intervention is recommended by trained physicians. Pain killers, analgesics, and steroidal applications are just a band aid to a chronic condition. Laser laminectomy is a new procedure done to reduce chronic condition in patients suffering from back pain. Laminectomy refers to a procedure done on vertebra resulting in partial or complete removal of the lamina. Lamina is the wing like part of the vertebra. The back bone is also called vertebrae. The spinal cord traverses through the vertebra.
Patients suffering from severe back pain usually have a condition called spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis is a medical condition, where the spinal cord nerves are affected resulting in compression of the nerves. The common cause for spinal stenosis is injury, aging or a tumor. Surgical laminectomy was pioneered by Victor Alexander Haden Horsley in 1887. Laminectomy attempts to remove or partially 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.
An alternate method of treatment is laser laminectomy. “Slipped disc” in medical terms is Herniated disc. Herniation disc occurs when the spinal nerves are affected by the bulging inter vertebral disc. This results in pain on the left side of the lower back. The aim of surgical laminectomy is to try to relieve the pressure put on the nerves that surround the spinal column; this once reduced relives the pain and allows for physical reduction of the protruding lamina. Patients who have received such surgery need a long recovery phase after the surgery. This entails pain medication, physical therapy and exercise during this period.
A minimally invasive procedure called laser laminectomy is a novel approach to treating patients suffering from back pain. Back pain is ancient and can be traced as far back as the Egyptians and Greek times.
Laser laminectomy involves using a laser to remove part of the nerve or lamina to alleviate the back pain. Houston laser laminectomy can attempt this procedure for herniated discs which in minimally invasive. A slang used in medical terminology is less invasive without undergoing the complications of anesthesia. In a surgical laminectomy the patient is put to sleep and the procedure performed under anesthesia. Surgical laminectomy is invasive and expensive, has risks for recurring back pain which may also affect the neck.
The three C’s that plague the American workforce in regards to treatment for back pain is that is it costly, chronic and complicated. American geriatric population is also affected by chronic back pain and consideration should be given to potential treatments such as laser laminectomy.
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