A good spine surgeon is dedicated to patient care and excellent outcomes, and is willing to learn new approaches and techniques while gaining expertise in standard approaches and techniques.
A spine surgeon should also be a good communicator who is willing to spend time explaining their reason for surgery as well as the treatment options they offer.
Aging, improper body mechanics, trauma and structural abnormalities can injure your spine, leading to back pain and other symptoms such as leg pain and/or numbness or even leg weakness.
Chronic back pain is a condition that generally requires a team of health professionals to diagnose and treat. Before resigning yourself to surgery, consider getting opinions from several spine specialists.
Open Spinal Surgery
Traditionally, spine surgery is usually performed as open surgery.
This entails opening the operative site with a long incision so the surgeon can view and access the spinal anatomy. However, technology has advanced to the point where more spine conditions can be treated with minimally invasive techniques.
What types of spine surgery are offered at Penn Medicine?
Penn’s Spine Service offers an array of traditional and minimally invasive surgical treatment options for the spine.
Some of the traditional spine surgery procedures we provide include laminectomy, microdiscectomy and traditional lumbar fusion.
Laminectomy is a procedure that is used to treat spinal stenosis or pressure on the nerves of the low back. The surgery involves an incision on the back of the spine that allows the surgeon to remove bone spurs and thickened ligaments that are pressing on the nerves of the low back.