If a patient's diagnosis determines a need for surgical intervention, The WKNI Spine Surgery Team provides multiple surgical options to address these specific conditions. Most commonly, variations of these two surgeries are performed:

Decompression Surgery: Removal of the piece of offending disc or bone.

Fusion Surgery: Fusing together of portions of the bony spine to decrease or eliminate excessive movement of the disc, thereby eliminating the source of pain.

Kyphoplasty: The use of balloons to realign the vertebrae and restore the height and shape of the vertebral body.

Some common conditions requiring surgical intervention are:

Disc Herniation: Disruption in the fibrous wrapper around the disc allowing a portion of the disc to put pressure on the nerve.

Surgical Treatment: Decompression. Surgeons can perform a laminectomy, in which a small portion of the outer bone covering, or lamina, over the nerve root is removed.

Degenerative Disc Disease: Discs in the spine naturally dehydrate and shrink. Patients can injure or weaken the disc space through many types of activity, such as sports, and any repetitive activity that involves bending or twisting of the spine.

Surgical Treatment: Fusion. Fusing stabilizes the area and limits the motion around the affected area, thereby decreasing or eliminating the pain.

Isthmic or Degenerative Spondylolisthesis: Spondylolisthesis occurs when a vertebrae slips forward and presses onto, or dislocates over, another vertebrae. This can be due to a congenital defect or stress fracture.

Surgical Treatment: Decompression and Fusion.

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A narrowing of the spinal canal.

Surgical Treatment: Decompression. Bone may be removed to give the nerves more room, often times this requires a fusion to stabilize the area.

Cervical Foraminal Stenosis: A narrowing of the foramen (the holes where the nerves exit the spine).

Surgical Treatment: Decompression.

Osteoarthritis: Generally caused by a slow deterioration of the disks between the vertebrae in the spine when the boney surfaces of the spine rub together, this causes pain.

Surgical Treatment: Fusion.