Patients’ Guide To

Laser Spine Surgery

Why might arthroscopic surgery be better than other spine surgical choices?
Arthroscopic, or laser spine surgery, uses minimally invasive procedures to treat spinal conditions. Minimally invasive techniques result in little blood loss during surgery, smaller incisions, and less scar tissue. Patients recover quickly from these procedures.

Which spinal conditions can laser spine surgery treat?
Laser spine surgery treats many spinal conditions. Included is bulging and herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, spinal arthritis, facet disease, foraminal and spinal stenosis, pinched nerves, scar tissue, and sciatica.

Can laser spine surgery help patients whose open back spine surgery failed?
Many patients with failed open back surgery receive successful treatments using laser spine surgery, alleviating all pain and symptoms. Laser surgery can assist surgeons with removal of instrumentation (hardware) and scar tissue.

Which medications should be avoided before laser spine surgery?
Patients should consult with their doctor if they take blood thinners (such as Coumadin), aspirin, anti-inflammatory medications, or drugs that combine these products. Prior to surgery, patients should provide their surgeon with a list of medications regularly taken, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

What are the risks associated with a laser spine surgical procedure?
The risks, or complications, are quite low. Laser spine surgery does not require general anesthesia, thus avoiding the associated risks. Rarely does postoperative infection develop and due to the small incision, there is minimal to no scar tissue formation that could cause new spine conditions.

Since general anesthesia is not used, how is the patient kept comfortable during laser spine surgery?
Intravenous medications are given to keep the patient comfortable throughout the procedure and then a local anesthetic is administered at the surgical site. The patient is kept comfortable and if desired, can talk to the surgical team during the procedure if discomfort is felt.

Do patients need more than one spine surgery to resolve a neck or back problem?
Most patients need only one surgery, which may include more than one procedure. For example, a foraminotomy and laminotomy may be performed during the same surgery. Some patients have more than one spine problem and require a combination of surgical techniques.

Typically, what are the physical limitations following laser spine surgery?
Physical therapy begins the day after surgery. Most patients are restricted to lifting less than 10-15 pounds for about 6 weeks. Patients with desk jobs normally return to work a few days after surgery. If the patient’s occupation is physically strenuous, and depending on the nature of the work, a return to work date may be set for 6 weeks. Some patients return to work with restrictions for the first 6 weeks and gradually return to regular activities after that.

How soon after surgery can a patient drive?
Since general anesthesia is not used, most patients return to driving and other activities of daily living within 24-hours.

Are these procedures considered experimental?
No. Between the four professionally trained surgeons at LSI, they have been performing approximately ten thousand surgeries collectively for over a decade with an incredible success rate.

Why is arthroscopic surgery at Laser Spine Institute better for me than other surgical options?
At LSI, we use technologically advanced, minimally invasive spine procedures to treat spinal conditions with very little blood loss, scarring or scar tissue, and we do not introduce anything to cause any potential problems such as hardware.