Am I a Good Candidate For Laser Spine Surgery?

If the thought of spinal surgery leaves you thinking you’d rather put up with back pain, you may want to reconsider. While traditional spine surgery certainly doesn’t sound appealing with its large incisions and long recovery period, laser spine surgery is a minimally invasive alternative that can alleviate many common back problems. And believe it or not, laser spine surgery is often performed as an outpatient procedure, so you won’t have a lengthy hospital stay or a long recovery.

At Premier Spine Institute — with three convenient locations in Woodlands, Humble, and Baytown, Texas — Bonaventure Ngu, MD, performs laser spine surgery to help you get long-term relief from back pain. Read on to learn if this may be an ideal solution for you.

Is laser spine surgery for me?

If you’re wondering about laser spine surgery as a way to alleviate your chronic back and neck pain, first consider the following:

• How long have you had back or neck pain?
• Have you tried noninvasive therapies without relief?
• Aside from back pain, are you in good overall health?
• Have you undergone previous spine surgery but still have pain?
• Is back pain negatively affecting your quality of life?

Although Dr. Ngu is a highly regarded orthopedic spine surgeon, his approach to alleviating your back pain is a conservative one. First, he evaluates and diagnoses the underlying cause of your pain. Next, he recommends nonsurgical treatments such as physical therapy, epidural injections, and other therapeutic methods that often provide pain relief from chronic back problems.

If you’ve already tried these methods but haven’t gotten the relief you need, Dr. Ngu may discuss laser spine surgery as a treatment option.

Conditions that laser spine surgery addresses

Laser spine surgery may not be effective for every type of back condition, but it often helps long-time back pain sufferers get relief from some common causes of back pain, including:

• Spinal cord tumors: growths that develop within the bones or spinal canal
• Pinched nerves: pressure on a nerve from the surrounding bones or tissue
• Herniated (bulging) discs: when the inner nucleus of a spinal disc pushes through the outer layer
• Sciatica: pressure on the sciatic nerve in your lower back
• Spinal stenosis: narrowing of the space within your spine, common in your neck and lower back

Dr. Ngu takes a personalized approach to treating your specific type of back pain. Through a series of diagnostic tests, such as MRIs, X-rays, and CT scans, he determines if your back condition makes you a good candidate for laser surgery.

Laser spine surgery can improve your quality of life

If you have trouble performing daily tasks because of back pain, or if chronic neck pain prevents you from finding a comfortable sleeping position, you may be a good candidate for laser spine surgery. Additionally, if back pain keeps you from exercising as much as you’d like, or participating in leisure activities you enjoy, laser spine surgery may be able to help.

Dr. Ngu considers the overall picture of your health and wellness along with the physical aspects of your condition to determine if you’re someone who can benefit from this minimally invasive procedure.

Laser spine surgery gets you back on your feet

Because laser spine surgery involves much smaller incisions than traditional back surgery, your recovery time is quicker and you can get back to a more active lifestyle sooner than with conventional surgery. Dr. Ngu uses a laser spine surgery to remove portions of soft tissue from your spine that are putting pressure on your nerves and causing pain. He can also remove spinal cord and bone tumors with the laser.

If you’re a good candidate for this type of procedure, you may finally get the long-term pain relief you’ve been hoping for, and without a hospital stay.

To get relief from chronic back pain and explore the possibility of laser spine surgery, contact Premier Spine Institute by phone or through the online booking system.