The Center offers a full range of minimally invasive procedures, including Neuroplasty, Nucleoplasty, Radiofrequency Ablation and Spinal Cord Stimulator.
After any injury or inflammation or back (spinal) surgery, scar tissue usually forms. Even a slipped disc can irritate the surrounding tissue and cause adhesions or scarring. Excessive scar tissue may press into the nerve, causing inflammation and pain.
Neuroplasty (Epidural Adhesiolysis) is a procedure to remove pressure caused by excessive scar tissue in the epidural space. The epidural space is a thin area between the inside of the spine (disc) and the protective layer around the spinal cord. Neuroplasty/ Epidural Adhesiolysis is done as a day-surgery procedure, under local anesthesia. It is relatively low-risk, with a short recovery time. Generally patients can go home within the same day.
Nucleoplasty (Percutaneous Disc Decompression) is a minimally invasive procedure to decompress a herniated disc in the spine that may irritate nearby nerve roots. This will reduce the disc protrusion and also reduce the pressure caused by the herniated disc that compresses nerve roots or the spinal cord.
The procedure is done using coblation (controlled ablation) technology. Coblation utilizes low-temperature radio-frequency energy to dissolve tissues in the center of the spinal disc. Once the excess disc is “vaporized”,it will cause a vacuum effect within the disc, causing the herniated disc to shrink back in. This technology minimizes the risk.
Nucleoplasty is recently developed to treat leg and or low back pain caused by bulging or herniated disc(s). Patients with spinal stenosis would be suitable candidates for this procedure.
Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) is a procedure that uses radio frequency energy to heat and burn painful nerves so it doesn’t transmit pain, relieving the symptom. Concurrently, it can be used to burn away any inflammation within the facet joints, removing the source of pain. This treatment is commonly used for back pain.
Pain in the facet joints has been reported to cause up to 40% of lower-back pain. Facet joints are small joints behind the spinal discs which help to support the spine and allow it to move. If the facet joint is arthritic or inflamed, it can become painful, causing neck pain or low back pain with or without pain in legs.
Facet joints are susceptible to injuries and daily wear-and-tear. Trauma such as whiplash injuries (a sudden jerk of the neck), twisting while lifting overhead, or unguarded rotation of the spine may irritate the facet joint. These irritations may cause tears, inflammation and /or distortion of the joint. Wear-and-tear can cause loss of cartilage or degeneration of the spinal discs. The disc which functions as a cushion collapses, causing pain in that area.
Pulsed Radiofrequency is a minimally invasive procedure that uses radio frequency energy to disable or desensitize pain-causing nerves. The difference with Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) is that Pulsed Radiofrequency is applied to the target nerve at shorter intervals at a lower temperature and does not destroy the nerve itself, but rather just “stuns” the nerve. Pulsed radiofrequency is normally used to treat pain arising from hypersensitive neuralgia, overly sensitized nerve in the spine, such as lower-back pain.
Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal. The spinal canal is the tubing system within the vertebrae through which the spinal cord and spinal nerves run. "Stenosis" in Greek means "choking". Spinal stenosis can occur any place in the spine, but most often occurs in the neck and low back. The low back pain accounts for a large percentage of spinal stenosis. In general, pain is worsened with backward bending of the spine (ex. walking uphill, climbing stairs) and classically relieved by forward bending of the spine (ex. touching toes or leaning on a shopping cart).
