What They Don't Tell You About Spinal Fusion

For conditions like spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis, spinal fusion is one of the most common surgical procedures used to treat them. The procedure involves the surgeon placing the bone graft material between certain vertebrae and then gradually fusing them into one single bone.

 

However, due to the procedure's nature, spinal fusion has proven to involve certain complications, problems, and restrictions on the human body. For example, fusion completely removes all motion at the fused vertebrae, therefore altering how the rest of the spine bears the weight. Hence, many patients have unanswered questions about this procedure. Let us dive further into it.

 

The treatment takes around six months to complete - by then, the vertebrae have been successfully fused together. However, the fused vertebrae will lead to movement restrictions, so patients won't be able to twist, bend, or even flex how they used to.

 

Moreover, most people don't realize that spinal fusion does not completely eradicate the pain in your back. Spinal fusions tend to cause problems later on in life - specifically hardware failure, spinal muscle injuries, or even adjacent segment disease. All of these problems can then lead to new or recurring back pain.

 

There have been many patients who have been treated in the past with spinal fusion and yet still experience severe pain in their backs. A lot of the pain is attributed to due experiencing increased stress and degeneration of the adjacent spinal segments. This is known as the adjacent segment disease, where this complication can occur when the fused segments increase due to the strain on the nearby segments. As a result, it can lead to back pain and neurological symptoms years after the fusion surgery.

 

Consequently, it would be best if patients could look into medical treatments where one can find the best solution to treating spinal stenosis or spondylolisthesis. A prime solution one can look into includes the Premia Spine TOPS (Total Posterior Spine) System - which is considered to be one of the best alternatives to lumbar interbody fusion surgery.

 

As an excellent implantable mechanical medical device, the Premia Spine TOPS System aids the spine to achieve normal movement for axial rotation, flexion, extension, etc. and is also designed as an implant for diseased levels between L2-L3, L3-L4, and L4-L5.

 

The system's procedure involves a unitary implant composed of two titanium plates and several metal arms that are horizontally connected to the pedicles with four polyaxial screws. It is implanted after a standard decompression by removing medial facets and the lamina via the posterior arthroplasty procedure. The system can also remove the bony and soft tissue during the spinal decompression surgery and implant at the affected spine segment to aid the patient's flexibility.  

 

For more than a decade, the TOPS system has been commercially used in Asia and Europe and has worked relentlessly to establish its efficacy and safety. In addition to that, FDA approved the Premia Spine TOPS System as an alternative to spinal fusion for the treatment of certain patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis with moderate to severe lumbar spinal stenosis.