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 Dr. Kathleen French is a surgical consultant and diagnostic evaluation specialist for Neurological & Spinal Surgery of the cervical and lumbar spine. There are many types of spinal surgery procedures performed and these procedures treat a variety of conditions. The most common symptoms for which patients seek care and may be offered spinal surgery include:
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Sciatica
- Leg or arm pain from a ruptured, herniated, or slipped disc
- Instability (abnormal movement) of the spine
The medical diagnoses associated with spinal surgery include:
- Disc herniation (also called a slipped or ruptured, or bulging disc) of the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine
- Spondylosis (osteoarthritis of the spine)
- Spondylolisthesis (a “slip” of one vertebrae over another)
- Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
- Degenerative disc disease (not truly a “disease” - this refers to changes of the discs between the vertebrae that occur as we age)
Spinal surgery is sometimes required to effectively treat more serious conditions such as:
- Spinal tumors
- Traumatic injuries to the spine: bones, ligaments, spinal nerves or the spinal cord itself
Spinal surgery procedures are done to remove pressure from the nerves or spinal cord and/or stabilize the spine. They include:
- Microdiscectomy
- Laminectomy / Laminotomy
- Spinal Fusion – including minimally invasive techniques
Modern neurosurgery has benefited greatly from advances in computer assisted imaging (computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and the development of stereotactic surgery. Some neurosurgical procedures even involve the use of MRI and functional MRI intraoperatively. As one of the most research-oriented specialties of medicine, the scope of neurosurgery has expanded as new diagnostic techniques allow surgeons to perform more complicated surgeries. Some of the most recent and innovative advances have been radiosurgery using the gamma knife for tumor treatment and endovascular surgery for the treatment of aneurysms.
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