A Spine Decompression Surgery operates on the bony canals that contain the nerves and the spinal cord in your back. It opens these and creates more space for these bones to move freely. It can be a complicated surgery, considering the spinal cord is one of the most vital body parts.

Are you or anyone close to you planning to get Spine Decompression Surgery? Get a detailed guide from this article for better reference.

Your spine forms the backbone of your body. It consists of the vertebrae with ligaments and spinal discs. Your body will lose its posture and balance if the spine does not work effectively. Spine injuries result in causing wear and tear in these bones and ligaments. It can be extremely painful as your body starts losing its flexibility.

Here, spine decompression surgery can be beneficial. It helps to create space within the canals so that the spine and other nerves can move freely. As a result, your body regains the lost flexibility. The pain and difficulties are also reduced.

Decompression surgery of the spine can be useful for multiple purposes. It helps to treat the following conditions.

• Degenerative Discs: This condition occurs when the cushion between your vertebrae starts wearing out. It causes extreme pain and challenges.
• Bulging Discs: When the cushion between your vertebrae bulges out, it causes bulging discs in the spine. This surgery will be useful in curing this condition.
• Herniated Discs: When a part of the disc pushes on your nerves, it causes a hernia. It needs immediate attention with such a surgery.
• Sciatica: It occurs when your Sciatic nerves start getting damaged.
• Spinal Stenosis: It causes a narrowing in your spine. A bone spur or bulging can cause this situation. It needs proper surgery to be cured.
• Pinched Nerves: If a nerve gets pinched or compressed, it results in this situation. It can cause numbness, tingling and pain.

In order to understand more about Spine Decompression Surgery, you must know more about various types of this surgery. Here is a list of surgeries you can get for your spine.

1. Laminectomy

The back of your vertebrae consists of the lamina. It is a bony arch which shapes your spinal canal. In some cases, there can be abnormal bone growths or bone spurs. It naturally decreases the spinal canal's opening, and it develops medical issues like arthritis of the facet joints, heredity factors, or injuries.

A laminectomy can be helpful in removing the entire lamina, thereby making more space for this canal. It can also remove a portion of the enlarged facet joints and the thickened ligaments covering the spinal cord and nerves. As a result, your spinal canal is widened, and the functions of the spine improve.

Benefits: Laminectomy helps to remove the entire enlarged lamina. As a result, it helps to remove the pressure on your spinal cord, which prevents it from functioning effectively. It also enhances the quality of life by eliminating back pain.

Success Rate: 85% - 90%

Cost of Surgery: Approximately ₹ 2,00,000 - ₹ 3,00,000

2. Laminotomy

This surgery is almost similar to a Laminectomy. While Laminectomy removes the entire lamina, Laminotomy removes a part of it. For instance, if there are bone spurs on only one part of your lamina, Laminotomy allows the surgeon to only remove that specific part.

It is often considered more beneficial than Laminotomy as it is less complicated. An endoscope can also be used for a lesser invasion incision.

Benefits: It is more beneficial than Laminotomy, as it reduces the chance of developing spinal instability. It helps to eliminate the pain and symptoms of bone spurs in the lamina.

Success Rate: 85% - 90%

Cost of Surgery: Approximately ₹ 2,00,000 - ₹ 3,00,000

3. Laminoplasty

It is another vital type of cervical spine compression surgery. Surgeons prefer this surgery if the compression involves the neck or cervical area. It involves an expansion of the spinal canal by cutting and opening the cervical vertebrae like a door.

The surgeons place the small bone wedges in this open space. Then, they close this space, and the wedges help prevent closing it more than required. Therefore, your spine gets the space it needs to perform.

Benefits: This surgery allows your spinal cord and the neuroforamen to be decompressed without removing the anterior pathology directly. It preserves spine stability and alignment, eliminating the risks of developing postlaminectomy kyphosis.

Success Rate: 60% - 85%

Cost of Surgery: Approximately ₹ 2,00,000 - ₹ 6,00,000

4. Discectomy

The natural ageing process often causes damage to the vertebrae. It can also occur due to long-term trauma and anxiety. Your spine becomes unstable and fails to perform properly when these discs lose their original shape. It can cause nerve compression issues.

A Discectomy enables surgeons to remove an entire damaged disc or a few portions. A Microdiscectomy is a procedure of removing a small piece of the disc, which might seem a better option in some cases. In the case of a Discectomy, surgeons might have to perform additional procedures for stabilising your spine after removing the entire disc.

Benefits: This surgery helps to deal with herniated discs and damages the discs, causing pain and other complications in your spine. It allows the spine to function better without damaged discs.

Success Rate: 70% - 90%

Cost of Surgery: Approximately ₹ 3,00,000 - ₹ 6,50,000

5. Foraminotomy

There is an opening in your vertebrae, known as the foramen. Several nerve roots pass through this opening. However, if this space is not wide enough, the nerves will not be able to move properly. Often, disc degeneration can cause the height of the foramen to collapse, thereby pinching a nerve.

With a Foraminotomy, surgeons remove some bones on the edge of the foramen, which helps to make more space for the nerves to pass and function properly. If an intervertebral disc in your spine presses against your nerve root, then surgeons might decide to remove a part of it during this procedure.

Benefits: This surgery helps to enlarge the area of a foramen in your spinal column. Therefore, it relieves pressure on compressed nerves and improves the performance of your spine.

Success Rate: 72% - 83%

Cost of Surgery: Approximately ₹ 3,00,000 - ₹ 6,50,000

6.Spinal Fusion

The decompression and fusion surgery of the lumbar spine is a vital surgery. If you plan to remove discs for one or more vertebrae or undergo other complicated procedures, you might require this fusion surgery.

Surgeons conduct fusion surgery to stabilise your spine with bone grafts and surgical hardware. It helps to fuse your vertebrae as solid bone. This, in turn, increases your spinal column's stability and prevents further risks of nerve irritation.

Benefits: This surgery is used to connect two or more vertebrae in your spine. It improves your overall stability and eliminates any pain or deformity in your body.

Success Rate: 70% - 90%

Cost of Surgery: Approximately ₹ 1,89,000 - ₹ 8,50,000

The best way to prepare for spine decompression surgery is by conducting research and paperwork. It will help you understand the details of the surgery and the areas that your medical insurance can cover. Furthermore, you need to prepare for what might come following the surgery.

In most cases, patients are suggested to rest following this heavy surgery. There will be restrictions on lifting heavy materials and other activities. If you have kids or pets, taking care of them might be a liability without help after this surgery. Hence, you should arrange for some help at home.

There is not a lot to expect before a spine decompression surgery. You might have to restrict smoking or drinking. Doctors might suggest you quit smoking or chewing tobacco for several months before and after the surgery.

You should also keep a blood bank in mind, especially if you have a rare blood group. Blood loss is common during any surgery. The surgeons will ask you to avoid eating or drinking about 6 hours before the surgery.

A spine decompression surgery can be a complicated one. You will be asked to lie face down on a special curved mattress. It allows the surgeon better access to the affected areas of your back and spine. You will be under general anaesthesia during this surgery. This means the surgery will not be painful.

In most cases, the entire operation does not take more than an hour. However, it might be longer based on the level of complexity. Surgeons will use X-rays to determine the level of decompression in your spine.

They will make an incision in the middle of your back and run it down your spine. Its length will depend on the number of vertebrae or discs that need to be treated.

During the surgery, the surgeons might lift the muscles in your back from the backbone to expose the spine bones. It will allow them to examine the affected area and remove the tissues to release the pressure off your spine. Once the surgeons achieve adequate decompression, they stitch the muscles back together, closing the incision.

Recovery from spine decompression surgery depends on your level of age and fitness. Doctors will most likely discharge you within 1 to 4 days after the surgery. However, there will be a rest period following this, ranging between 4 and 6 weeks. You will be able to recover and go back to a usual lifestyle after this period.

Following surgery, you will feel back pain, and one or more tubes might be attached to your back. These might include the following.

• Drips supplying fluids into your veins for hydration
• Drains removing extra fluids from your wounds
• Tubes inserted in your bladder if there is difficulty urinating
• Pumps to deliver painkillers to your veins

Apart from the pain, you can also expect stitches or staples around the cuts or incisions surrounding your affected area and operation. Deep stitches will be dissolved automatically, and non-dissolvable stitches can be removed within 5 to 10 days of the operation.

You might be suggested to seek rehabilitation for physical activities, as inactivity can cause blood clotting after this surgery.

Generally, a decompression surgery of the cervical spine will be beneficial for the following reasons.

• It is highly effective to reduce the pain or complications in your spine. Most types of this surgery have success rates of 75% - 85%, which means the risks are much lower.
• The surgery is mostly pain-free, as surgeons use anaesthesia. You might feel pain after the surgery, but it is mild and can be addressed with pain medication.
• This surgery is usually capable of developing long-term results. It will help avoid any more complications of the spinal cord coming your way.
• It also helps to improve your quality of life and posture by removing pain and complications of your spine.

A spine decompression surgery might have the following risk factors.

• Recurring symptoms and complications
• Infections from an incorrect incision
• Blood clotting
• Deep Vein Thrombosis
• Dural tear
• Cerebrospinal fluid leakage
• Sore and loss of vision
• Nerve injuries and paralysis
• Possible death

It would help to inform the doctor when you start feeling spine compression. The following symptoms will help you identify the same.

• Pain in the lower back (lumbar spine) or neck (cervical spine)
• Neuropathies, which indicates numbness or tingling sensation
• Instability in the back
• Weakness and fatigue
• Balance problems
• Incontinence issues in terms of bowel dysfunction and unexpected need to urinate

If you are scared of spine decompression surgery, here are some alternatives that you can consider here.

Alternative Disc Replacement: It can be used in a few specific cases of lumbar degenerative disc disease. It helps to treat chronic, severe low back pain. It allows surgeons to replace a painful spinal disc with a device which mimics the disc’s natural movement. The purpose is to alleviate pain by reducing the micro motions and stabilising your spinal segments.

Posterior Motion Preservation Spine Surgery: Spinal fusion helps to treat ongoing pain and disability arising from a lumbar spine. Spinal stenosis can be an alternative to this surgery. The posterior motion preservation devices provide a better treatment alternative than spine fusion for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis, facet pain, etc.

Vertebral Augmentation: This is a surgical procedure stabilising a fractured vertebra. There are procedures like vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, or radiofrequency vertebral augmentation to reduce pain. These minimally invasive surgeries allow you to go home the same day of the procedure.

Multilevel Lumbar Fusion: This type of surgical procedure includes anterior approach only, posterior approach only, or a combined anterior and posterior approach surgery. It is a relatively less complicated surgery which helps create a bone bridge from one vertebra to the next.