2. While it seems counter-intuitive, the term laser spine surgery has
begun to include a great many minimally invasive procedures that
do not necessarily involve the use of an actual laser. This is,
perhaps, because so many surgical centers that provide minimally
invasive, outpatient treatment for symptoms related to
degenerative spine conditions market themselves using the
futuristic term “laser.” And, in fact, many of the procedures do
entail the use of a laser as a heat source in order to strategically
target the smallest amount of spinal anatomy for removal (in some
cases, vaporization).
What many people wonder, though, is what conditions are actually
treated by centers that specialize in laser spine surgery. What
follows is a detailed accounting of the degenerative spine
conditions and resulting anatomical abnormalities that are treated
by those centers.
3. Degenerative Spine Conditions
Age-related deterioration of the spinal anatomy affects almost
everyone. Of course, not everyone experiences neck or back pain
because of it, and even fewer actually require laser spine surgery.
Those who do tend to suffer from one of two degenerative spine
conditions: spinal osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease.
Spinal osteoarthritis, sometimes simply called spinal arthritis, is the
deterioration of the cartilage lining the spinal joints. Degenerative
disc disease (DDD) is the gradual deterioration of the sponge-like
intervertebral discs, which serve as shock absorbers between the
stacked vertebrae.
4. Bulging Disc
One potential result of DDD is a bulging disc.
This anatomical abnormality arises when the
disc’s layered, fibrous outer wall is forced out of
its normal boundary because it has become too
weak to hold the internal, gel-like nucleus of
the disc, which is under constant pressure.
A bulging disc typically remains asymptomatic
unless the outer wall begins to make contact
with the spinal cord or nerve root. In fact, the
same can be said of most of these age-related
spine conditions. Contact with a nerve root can
give rise to neck or back pain, traveling pain,
and tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness in
the extremities.
5. Herniated Disc
A herniated disc often occurs after a bulging disc. Disc
herniation happens when the gel-like nucleus material of
a disc leaks through a rupture, or tear, in the disc’s outer
wall. The extruded disc material is often reabsorbed by
the body before it touches a nerve root or the spinal cord,
causing severe symptoms in some cases. However, just
the presence of nucleus material near the tiny nerve
endings in the disc’s outer wall can cause pain within the
disc itself, but this pain usually remains localized.
6. Osteophytes
Osteophytes are also known as bone spurs. They can occur on
any bone in the body, often where joints become unstable. In
the spine, they occur as a result of spinal arthritis. Bone spurs
are smooth, excess growths of bone that are found along the
edges of vertebrae and unstable spinal joints.
While these bony growths don’t always produce symptoms,
they often are revealed in the early stages by a distinctive
“popping” or “cracking” noise known as crepitus. An
osteophyte can become particularly problematic if it begins to
make contact with a nerve root.
7. Early Stage Spondylolisthesis
In its early stages, symptomatic spondylolisthesis (vertebral
slippage) might be treated with a minimally invasive,
outpatient laser spine procedure. This typically applies for
Grade I spondylolisthesis (25 percent slippage) only, and only
when the slipped vertebra is making contact with the spinal
cord or a nerve root. As with other degenerative spine
conditions, laser spine surgery addresses the pain and other
symptoms caused by spondylolisthesis, but does not cure the
condition itself (in other words, laser surgery would not
reposition the slipped vertebrae back to its correct
placement).
8. What Is Not Treated
As indicated previously, late-stage spondylolisthesis is not typically treated by
centers that specialize in laser spine surgery. In addition, not every patient
suffering from nerve compression symptoms is a candidate for minimally
invasive procedures on the spine.
Patients who do not enjoy sound overall health might not be considered good
candidates for minimally invasive spine surgery. People who have undergone
highly invasive spinal fusion surgery in the past might also find that minimally
invasive laser spine surgery is not available to them.
There might also be other factors that preclude a patient from becoming a
candidate. If you are considering spine surgery of any kind, be sure to discuss
all of your options with your doctor and seek multiple medical opinions
before consenting to any type of procedure.
