Spinal surgery is generally very safe. The chances of injury to the spinal cord are extremely small, the chances to nerve structures are also extremely small.
If you’re suffering severe pain from a large disc prolapse or severe nerve compression, then the surgery to stabilise the spine and remove the pressure on the nerves, the benefits of that surgery far outweigh the risks associated with damage to nerves or the spinal cord.
I perform in the vicinity of 100 to 150 operations on the cervical spine a year, which involves either decompressive surgery alone or more commonly decompressive and fusion surgery. This stabilises the cervical spine but also recreates the normal anatomy of the spine and the space available for nerves.
With patients I discuss what I think the goals of the surgery are. If someone has severe neck or back pain, the goal of the surgery is to reduce, if not eliminate those symptoms, and for the vast majority of occasions, that’s very much achievable with modern spine surgery.
What is a good outcome from surgery?
For me a good outcome is if I’ve been able to achieve what we set out to do in significantly alleviating your severe neck or back symptoms. If I’m able to make a patient’s life considerably better, if not achieve complete resolution of symptoms, that’s a successful outcome.
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