Lumbar spine (low back) surgeries are among the most common surgeries performed by neurosurgeons, such as Dr. Karahalios, throughout the world. These common procedures performed to treat low back pain fall into two general categories: decompression and spinal fusion.
- Decompression back surgery involves removing a small portion of the bone over the nerve root and/or disc material from under the nerve root to relieve pinching of the nerve and to provide more room for the nerve to heal (a microdiscectomy or laiminectomy).
- Spinal fusion involves using a bone graft to stop the motion at a painful vertebral segment, which in turn should decrease pain generated from the joint. Spine surgery instrumentation (medical devices), bone graft procedures, and bone stimulators are sometimes used along with spinal fusion surgery.
The most common types of lumbar spine (low back) surgeries are the following:
- Lumbar spinal stenosis
- Lumbar discectomy
- Decompression and decompression with fusion (the type of surgeries for spondylolisthesis)
- Spinal fusion
Dr. Karahalios has performed thousands of these procedures over the course of his career. His specialty training in spine surgery, along with his vast experience and his continued pursuit of and research into more effective surgical spine solutions, makes him an excellent choice for any patient evaluating the role of surgery in resolving their back pain.