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A lumbar fusion surgery is designed to relieve pain, numbness, tingling and weakness, restore nerve function and stop or prevent abnormal motion in the spine. This is done by fusing the vertebrae together, stopping the motion at a painful vertebral segment, which should decrease pain generated from the joint. All lumbar fusion surgery involves adding bone graft to an area of the spine to set up a biological response that causes the bone graft to grow between the two vertebral elements and thus stopping the motion at that segment. The lumbar fusion can be done in the front or the back of the spine. If the fusion is performed in the front of your spine, the surgeon will remove the disc and any arthritic areas, and place a bone graft between the vertebrae where it eventually fuses to the surrounding vertebrae to stop abnormal motion. If the fusion is performed in the back of your spine, a bone graft will be placed on the sides of the vertebrae where it will grow together to the vertebrae to stop abnormal motion. Conditions that may be treated by a lumbar fusion surgery include degenerative disc disease, Isthmic, degenerative or postlaminectomy spondylolisthesis, weak or unstable spine caused by infections or tumors, fractures, scoliosis or deformity. |
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