Incredible Procedure Known As Laser Laminectomy
Posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 1:35 am2.4 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.
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 common symptom for patients is chronic low back pain which results in immobility and a feeling of anguish. Currently, treatment of low lumbar back pain due to herniated discs is by surgery or use of pain killers. A invasive procedure is the recommended procedure to prevent suffering and emotional stress. The surgical procedure for the patient is done under general anesthesia. The patient is admitted to a hospital and under anesthesia a small incision is made at the back to perform laminectomy.
An alternate procedure to treat herniated discs and spinal stenosis is by Laser laminectomy. Herniated disc is also commonly referred to as “Slipped disc”. Herniation of the disc occurs when inter vertebral disc bulges out and directly affects the nerves around the spine. This results in pain on the left and right side of the low back. The goal of surgical laminectomy is to remove the pressure on the nerves surrounding the spinal cord; this will relieve pain and allow for physical reduction of the protruding lamina. The patients who undergo laminectomy have a long recovery phase after surgery. This may involve pain medication, 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.
