Spinal fusion is a surgical operation performed in order to stop movement at a painful vertebral segment. The operation leads to decreased range of motion and flexibility in the area, but it also decreases pain, so many patients feel that the trade off is worth it. In fact, there are a number of different types of spinal fusion operations that surgeons can perform to provide pain relief and vertebral stability. Today, we take a closer look at the different types of spinal fusion operations.

Understanding Spinal Fusion

Before we get into the different types of spinal fusion operations, let’s take a closer look at the procedure itself. All spinal fusion operations involve the same main process:

• Adding a bone graft to the problemed spinal segment.
• Allow the bone graft to grown between two vertebral segments to create a bone fusion.
• The boney fusion fuses two vertebral sections together, limiting motion at the joint segment.

There are a number of different ways to approach the spinal segments and to ensure stabilization through a fusion procedure. Here’s a look at the type of operations a spine surgeon may perform.

Types Of Spinal Fusion Operations

Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF) – This type of spinal fusion operation is performed with the surgeon operating on the front of a person’s body. They carefully navigate around soft tissues and other structures to remove the damaged disc and insert the bone graft in the space created between the two vertebral bodies.

Anterior/Posterior Spinal Fusion – This spinal fusion operation is performed with the surgeon accessing the vertebral section from both the front and the back.

Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion – This fusion of the two vertebral segments occurs with the surgeon accessing the spine through an incision made on the side of a person’s body.

Posterior Gutter Fusion – This is a “tried and true” spinal fusion operation with the surgeon accessing the spine through an incision on the back.

Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF) – This type of spinal fusion operation involves accessing the spine from the back and removing the disc between two vertebrae and inserting the bone graft into the space created between the two spinal segments.

Transformainal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) – This procedure is similar to a PLIF, although a different type of hardware is used to stabilize the spine.

All of these techniques vary, but as we mentioned above, they are linked by the same underlying process. Spinal fusion helps to provide pain relief by limiting movement in the painful section of the spine, and is used to treat conditions like herniated discs and segmental instability.

If you are dealing with spine pain, consider reaching out to Dr. Chang’s office today. He’ll be more than happy to conduct a physical exam and help you uncover the true cause of your spine pain. From there, he’ll walk you through all your treatment options. For more information, contact him today.