Management of back pain: Appropriate surgical treatments
Building up our algorithm, the next step after diagnosing any condition that requires
immediate surgery is to be aware of what surgical procedure should be done that would
yield the best results.
BACK PAIN
(^)
PATHOLOGICAL CAUSE
NO PATHOLOGICAL
RED FLAGS^
BUT NO RED FLAG^ CAUSE^
APPROPRIATE SURGICAL^
TREATMENT
The aim of this chapter is to make you aware of the different surgical procedures
available for certain spinal disorders so that you can make an informed decision with
your orthopod. Having said that, remember that surgery DOES NOT GUARANTEE that
all your pain will go away. Surgery is not a cure for many spinal conditions and may only
reduce the pain and that too temporarily in most cases. Surgery must therefore be
contemplated ONLY when you have “Red Flags”.
Where there is a doubt as to whether there is a red flag or not it is better to
wait and reassess rather than rush in for an operation.
You should also know that delaying surgery for a period of a month or more does not
worsen the outcome. Let us take disc herniation as an example. Many patients with
strong clinical findings of nerve or nerve root compression due to disc herniation