Spine Surgery Specialist
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Steven J Svabek, DO, PA
Orthopaedic Surgeon & Spine Surgeon located in Coral Springs, FL
People living with debilitating back pain could find that spinal surgery is their only choice for relief. Luckily, new developments in technology and procedures mean that minimally invasive spinal surgery is the choice for more and more patients. Steven J. Svabek, DO, PA, works with patients in Coral Springs, Florida, to determine if spinal surgery is necessary and, if so, which surgery will work best. He maps out an appropriate treatment plan. To work with an orthopaedic surgeon who focuses on getting you the best results, call Dr. Svabek today or book your appointment online.
Spine Surgery Q & A
What conditions benefit from spine surgery?
Patients suffering from back pain caused by spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), scoliosis (curvature of the spine), a back injury, degenerative disc disease, and other anatomical disorders could find relief with spine surgery.
Explore conservative treatments, including physical therapy, exercise, and epidural injections before spine surgery. Depending on your circumstances, Dr. Svabek could determine that spine surgery is right for you.
Dr. Svabeck considers surgery when the exact source of the pain is known. It’s most successful with patients suffering from radiating pain in their arms or legs.
What is the difference between open surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery?
Open surgery was at one time the only choice for spine surgery. Surgeons opened the surgical site with a long incision, allowing doctors to see the spinal anatomy in its entirety.
Technological advances have given surgeons and their patients new choices. Many spine conditions no longer require open surgery but are treated using minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS).
Since MISS doesn’t require a long incision, there’s far less trauma to the muscles and tissues around the spine. The surgery is shorter, pain after surgery is much less, and recovery is much faster.
What can I expect when recovering from spine surgery?
Most patients recovering from spine surgery experience pain around the incision, which they treat with medications. The pain level you experience after surgery will depend on what kind of surgery was done and the condition it corrected.
Patients stay in the hospital 1-5 days following spine surgery. Dr. Svabek won’t discharge you until it’s safe and you feel ready. Some patients will need to spend some time rehabilitating before they return home.
What kinds of spine surgery are there?
It’s essential for you, as a patient, to understand what kind of surgery you need. The main kinds of spine surgery include:
Discectomy
Removing the herniated portion of a disc relieves spinal nerve irritation, inflammation, and pressure. In a discectomy, full or partial removal of the back portion of a vertebra is necessary to access the herniated disc.
Laminectomy
In a laminectomy, the bone plate, or lamina, overlying the spinal canal is removed. This procedure commonly treats spondylolisthesis (a slipped disc), spinal tumors, and spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal).
Fusion
A spinal fusion uses bone grafts and medical devices to connect two or more bones in the spine. These procedures add stability and eliminate motion between vertebrae that have become painful due to injury or degeneration.
Foraminotomy
This procedure treats pinched nerves and relieves spinal nerve compression by surgically increasing the opening where the spinal nerves exit the spine.
Choosing the right surgeon is key regardless of what kind of spine surgery you need. To learn about all of your choices for spine surgery, call today or book an appointment online with Dr. Svabek.