FAQ – Spinal Surgery

How safe are spinal procedures?

Spinal procedures are the most commonly and successfully performed procedures worldwide. Surgical, as well as non-surgical procedures, are intended to provide relief to the patient while improving their quality of life.

Who performs these non-surgical procedures?

The procedures are performed by neurosurgeons in association with doctors who specialize in pain management (anesthesiologist or physiatrist) and spine disorders implant spinal cord stimulators.

What are the risks associated with non-surgical spinal procedures?

Although most of the non-surgical spinal procedures are safe but carries some degree of risks like:

• Infection
• Bleeding at the site of needle placement
• Soreness at the injection site
• Loss of sensation or muscle strength
• Injury to structures in the path of the needle
• Contrast reaction

What can patient expect after the block procedure?

Some patients may get immediate relief from pain and other symptoms soon after the injection or block. Others take hours or days to feel relief from symptoms after the procedure. It depends upon the accurate selection of site of injection and the choice of local anesthetic and the steroid compound.

When can I return to normal activities?

The patients ability to return to normal activities varies considerably with the type of spinal surgery and patients recovery. Most of the surgical procedures require patient to restrict the strenuous activities for 4 – 6 weeks while in case of non-surgical block procedures, patient can resume activities within one week of the procedure (maybe more or less depending upon the procedure).

How long will there be relief from symptoms?

Relief from pain and other symptoms may last from hours to months and in some cases indefinitely. In fact, there can be no relief to some patients either due to lack of response to the medication or wrong selection of the site of block.