Now they didn’t draw any conclusions from this study, but certainly there are a couple of things we need to consider here.

As spinal surgery is the last option for most patients, what conservative options did they try before surgery? The statistical outcomes for these types of surgeries are still not that great- so surgeons typically don’t perform them unless there is a very good reason.

Are there lifestyle factors which increase the likelihood that we are damaging our spines to the point that surgery is necessary? Does the fact that Americans seem to be less active contribute to this? Is their a correlation to the rate of obesity?

These questions will probably be addressed in another study, but it would be hard to imagine that lifestyle and preventive considerations would not have affected these increases in a significant way. As I said, spinal surgery is a last option for most patients, and I know that there are things we can all do to decrease the likelihood that we will get to that point.

Thanks for tuning in.

-Andy

discreplacement2

As I related in the video post, the disc replacement is a relatively new compared to most of what’s out there. It is a pretty elaborate procedure, and the recovery time will vary largely based upon the overall health, weight, age, and fitness of the patient prior to the surgery.

Below is an image of the prosthetic device itself.

One type of replacement disc prosthesis.

Thanks for visiting, in the next installment of this surgery series, I will review the foraminotomy and a brief wrap up. Look for more posts from Israel this week.

Best,

Andy