Regular readers of this back pain blog will know that I am not a big fan of back surgery. Not least because it is a fact that in most cases it fails.
However, I am not dogmatic about it, an open mind is a healthy mind and all that! So it was very refreshing to read on the Daily Mail.co.uk website of a technique being successfully used by a surgical unit at Kings College Hospital London to treat back problems caused by slipped and/or bulging discs.
The procedure, keyhole endoscopic surgery, involves making a tiny (5mm) incision 10mm to the side of the spine, and an endoscope is guided to the trouble spot with the aid of x-rays.
Surgical instruments are then put down the centre of the tube to cut away the problem area of the disc and retrieve the debris.
The whole thing takes only about an hour, usually under local anaesthetic, and there are not even any stitches. The patient can go home within hours and there is not even a scar after a couple of months.
With an impressive 95% success rate this treatment has many advantages for both the patient and the NHS.
Consultant spinal neurosurgeon at Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust, Irfan Malik, says that for one in 20 people he sees with back pain a slipped disc is the cause, and is convinced that in the future this procedure will become the standard method of treating patients with back pain problems.
Whatever your views on back surgery this procedure is something that seems to offer real promise, although it has to be said that so far only 20 patients have undergone it.
To read this very comprehensive article, which covers an actual case study of a patient operated on by Mr. Malik, and the result, click here.
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