Surgery should always be considered the last option. Surgical intervention is – without question – the most dangerous of all treatment options. In addition, Spinal Surgery is associated with:
- the lowest success rates,
- it has the longest recovery time,
- is the most expensive, and
- is the most painful.
In very rare circumstances, surgery cannot be avoided. Patients with no option other than surgery include those with progressively worsening neurological deficit (severe muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, etc.) or cauda equina syndrome – a severe spinal cord compression that is identified by sciatica down both legs, dramatic onset of motor weakness in the lower extremities and/or loss of bowel and bladder control. Nearly all other cases should consider less dangerous, non-invasive treatment methods first.
Common Vascular Complications
Surgery is risky under the best of circumstances. A study published in the respected medical journal, Spine (1991; 16[1]), stated that 1 out of every 575 lumbar discectomy surgeries will involve severe vascular complications – lumbar discectomy surgeries are amont the most commonly performed low back spinal surgical procedures. Of these surgical complications 37-61% will result in the death of the patient. Stated a different way, approximately 1 out of every 1000 lumbar discectomy patients will die as a direct result of the surgery.
Significant Anesthesia Risks
General anesthesia is necessary to perform nearly any operation. A small percentage of these patients will die every year or will be permanently disabled as a direct result of anesthesia – this applies both to properly delivered AND improperly applied anesthesia.
High Spinal Surgery Failure Rate
Unfortunately, the failure rate of back surgery is very high. Some 200,000 patients undergo back surgery each year. On average, 53 percent of all spinal disc surgeries fail to relieve symptoms according to a study published in International Orthopedics (1987; 11:255-259). Another study published in Spine (2004; 29[17]:1931-7) showed that 20-40 percent of patients will fail to gain the desired outcome and 10 percent of patients will be worse after the initial surgery (how many surgeries did the patient sign up for?). This same study followed the progress of 3,362 patients that received spinal disc surgery. The results of the SF-36 Health Survey showed that patients with a history of spinal surgery fared significantly worse on areas such as physical functioning, general health and mental health compared to those patients with no prior history of spine surgery. The researchers went on to state that “[p]revious back surgery is associated with significantly worse general health status than those without surgery…”
Many non-surgical options currently exist to safely and effectively treat the vast majority of spinal disc conditions. DRX9000 Spinal Decompression is one of those options.
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I Have a Herniated Disc. Do I Need Surgery?
Surgery should always be considered the last option. Surgical intervention is – without question – the most dangerous of all treatment options. In addition, Spinal Surgery is associated with:
In very rare circumstances, surgery cannot be avoided. Patients with no option other than surgery include those with progressively worsening neurological deficit (severe muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, etc.) or cauda equina syndrome – a severe spinal cord compression that is identified by sciatica down both legs, dramatic onset of motor weakness in the lower extremities and/or loss of bowel and bladder control. Nearly all other cases should consider less dangerous, non-invasive treatment methods first.
Common Vascular Complications
Surgery is risky under the best of circumstances. A study published in the respected medical journal, Spine (1991; 16[1]), stated that 1 out of every 575 lumbar discectomy surgeries will involve severe vascular complications – lumbar discectomy surgeries are amont the most commonly performed low back spinal surgical procedures. Of these surgical complications 37-61% will result in the death of the patient. Stated a different way, approximately 1 out of every 1000 lumbar discectomy patients will die as a direct result of the surgery.
Significant Anesthesia Risks
General anesthesia is necessary to perform nearly any operation. A small percentage of these patients will die every year or will be permanently disabled as a direct result of anesthesia – this applies both to properly delivered AND improperly applied anesthesia.
High Spinal Surgery Failure Rate
Unfortunately, the failure rate of back surgery is very high. Some 200,000 patients undergo back surgery each year. On average, 53 percent of all spinal disc surgeries fail to relieve symptoms according to a study published in International Orthopedics (1987; 11:255-259). Another study published in Spine (2004; 29[17]:1931-7) showed that 20-40 percent of patients will fail to gain the desired outcome and 10 percent of patients will be worse after the initial surgery (how many surgeries did the patient sign up for?). This same study followed the progress of 3,362 patients that received spinal disc surgery. The results of the SF-36 Health Survey showed that patients with a history of spinal surgery fared significantly worse on areas such as physical functioning, general health and mental health compared to those patients with no prior history of spine surgery. The researchers went on to state that “[p]revious back surgery is associated with significantly worse general health status than those without surgery…”
Many non-surgical options currently exist to safely and effectively treat the vast majority of spinal disc conditions. DRX9000 Spinal Decompression is one of those options.
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