Most people today have missed work due to back problems. Pain disables them to do their daily task or activities. It can be very frustrating and at the same time depressing. Many doctors prescribed non-invasive form of treatment to manage the pain and eventually treat the source of pain. In some severe cases surgery might be recommended but most physicians does not recommend it because they find most individuals not qualified or good candidate for spinal surgery.
Indeed there are risks and complications that come with every back surgery however there is minimally invasive laser spine surgery that is quite popular today. Laser spine surgery is an endoscopic alternative to traditional back surgery to relieve pain in the neck or upper back and the lower back. This procedure uses laser to eliminate bone spurs, relieve from herniated disc that brings severe pain and gives relief to tangled nerves.
Laser spine surgery is an appealing option since it is done under local anesthetic coupled with sedation administered through IV. This means that patients are awake the whole time the procedure is performed. Since the main device use here is laser this means that it does not involve large incisions at all or long stay in the hospital. The procedure usually last for an hour at average and recovery time is very short in fact patient may go home just after a few hours from the procedure. It is not like traditional back surgeries where surgeons need to operate through a patient’s front thus have high risk of injuring major organs. Laser surgery is minimally invasive and involves less risk.
The disadvantage of such procedure is that it is still new procedure and it comes with risk. There are some reports of damage in their bowels due to failed surgery. Another disadvantage to this procedure is the cost. It is quite expensive with an average estimated cost of around $30,000 at minimum and it is not covered by most insurance plans. This means that patients have to spend out of its own pocket.
You can find a number of laser spine clinics operating all over the United States however most of these facilities are only found in the major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Tampa. This is one inconvenience for patients whose place is quite far and especially if you suffer from some disability, you still have to travel far for you to locate a good and reputable laser spine clinic.