How to Prepare for Spinal Stenosis Surgery, Part III

 

Back Surgery

Spinal stenosis, an unnatural narrowing (or stenosis) of the spinal canal, is an all too common cause of back pain and restricted mobility, which results from pressure the narrowing column places on spinal nerves. For those who don’t respond to more conservative treatments, surgery may be recommended to correct spinal stenosis, and it’s important for such patients to prepare for the procedure properly. The preparations starts by ascertaining that back surgery is indeed called for.

Pain in your leg that is greater than the pain in your back caused by a pinched nerve (as measured by standard pain scales), is one indication that surgery is appropriate for a given case of spinal stenosis. Leg pain that does not decrease and interferes with your quality of life, and radiological scans confirming that the pain is likely due to nerve compression, are also indications that surgery may be beneficial.

Much of the advice on preparing for any back surgery applies to a spinal stenosis operation, as well. As in other back surgeries, you should stop smoking and, if overweight, shed excess pounds. Get your blood pressure down. Walk, or engage in other moderate activity that gets your muscles moving. This is important to speed your recovery process.

Check the medications you’re taking and discuss them with your physicians to ensure the medications will not interfere with your surgery or recovery. For example, blood thinners can interfere with blood clotting. Among women, birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy can also interfere with surgery.

Traditionally, spinal fusion back surgery has been performed in conjunction with spinal stenosis surgery to stabilize the spine at the site of the operation. A drawback of spinal fusion is that the procedure eliminates the independent motion of the fused vertebrae, and is also physically demanding. Now there is an alternative to spinal fusion following spinal stenosis surgery. The TOPSTM (Total Posterior Solution) System can be used instead of spinal fusion, and has better outcomes. Investigating whether this alternative procedure makes sense for you could be one of the best ways to prepare for your surgery for spinal stenosis.