Advanced Procedures

Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) is the implantation of electrodes into the back that sends electrical impulses to the spinal cord. This will block the pain signals from going to the brain and reduce the pain you feel significantly.

This therapy is very useful for chronic back and neck pain especially if you have not had relief from other treatments including spine surgery. This is an outpatient procedure where you go home the same day with minimal recovery time of less than 1 week.

Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) is asimilar concept but directly targets specific smaller nerves that are outside of the spinal cord. These specific nerves usually are involved in sending pain signals from various body parts such as the low back, shoulder, knee and foot.

Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) stimulation therapy works by stimulating dorsal root ganglia. These are structures along the spinal column made up of densely populated sensory nerves, and they act like traffic lights, regulating signals and sensations that travel through nerve fibers along the spinal column to the brain.

Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression (MILD) is a procedure using special surgical instruments to remove small parts of excess bone and ligament which are causing narrowing of the spine and compression of the nerves. This is done through an incision the size of a baby aspirin pill. Removing these excess tissues will reduce the compression of the nerves and restore the space in the spinal canal.

This is an outpatient procedure where you go home the same day with minimal recovery time of less than 1 week. This procedure is especially useful if your pain is worse with walking and activity and improved with rest and bending forward.

The Vertiflex Interspinous Spacer procedure consists of a small metal spacer that is implanted in between the bones of the spine to open the spaces of the spine to reduce the pressure on the nerves. This is done through a small 1-2 inch incision in the back.

This is an outpatient procedure where you go home the same day with minimal recovery time of less than 1 week. This procedure is especially useful if your pain is worse with walking and activity and improved with rest and bending forward.

Kyphoplasty is a technique done in the office setting for painful fractures of the vertebrae or bones of the spine. 1-2 needles are inserted into the broken bone and a balloon is inflated to create a cavity and increase the lost height of the fractured bone. Then medical grade bone cement is injected into the fracture. This will stabilize the fracture and restore the height of the collapsed bone and reduces the pain.

The SI joint is in the lower back and is a shock absorber for the body. Over time it may degenerate and cause pain. Several physical exam tests may be done to help diagnosis this pain generator and an SI joint injection will confirm the diagnosis if it reduces the pain temporarily.

SI joint fusion involves fusion and stabilization of the SI joint and thereby reducing the pain from the joint. This is an outpatient procedure where you go home the same day with minimal recovery time of less than 1 week.

Intrathecal pain pumps are a device that is implanted in the back which holds pain medication that is delivered directly to the spinal cord. This allows continual delivery of pain medication.

The medication in the pump can be refilled every few months when it runs out through a small needle in the office setting. This is an outpatient procedure where you go home the same day with minimal recovery time of less than 1 week.

Laser Assisted Spinal Endoscopy (LASE) is a minimally invasive method of discectomy. This is a procedure to remove pieces of a herniated disc that is compressing the nerves of the spinal cord. By removing parts of the disc the compression on the nerves is relieved and the pain is reduced. There are no large incisions or long recovery times for this procedure unlike traditional spine surgery.

The Intracept Procedure targets the basivertebral nerve for the relief of chronic vertebrogenic low back pain. With the Intracept procedure the Physician makes a 3mm to 5mm incision in the low back and a radiofrequency probe is then inserted to access the center of the vertebrae at the trunk of the basivertebral nerve. Heat is applied through the probe desensitizing the nerve, making it unable to transmit a pain signal.

The Plasma Disc Decompression is a minimally invasive alternative to major surgery. It is performed using x-ray guidance to accurately place a cannula into the disc. A patented Coblation Spinewand is then inserted through the cannula into the center disc using Coblation technology to remove excess tissue. As a result, the disc pressure is reduced, which may ease symptoms of patients with herniated discs.

Aurora ZIP is a minimally invasive procedure used to effectively treat back and leg pain from spinal instability. If nonsurgical treatment options have proved ineffective at managing your pain, Aurora ZIP can help improve your pain symptoms without needing to undergo major back surgery.

Via Disc is a non-surgical treatment that helps repair damage to degenerative discs so patients can better manage their chronic lower back pain symptoms caused by degenerative disc disease. As we age, discs can experience wear and tear which can result in a loss of water within the disc and disc degeneration. Over time, disc degeneration can worsen which further causes pain and discomfort.

The ViaDisc treatment looks to reverse the damage caused by disc degeneration and relieve pain symptoms. Via Disc uses allogeneic tissue, which is recovered donor tissue, that helps directly repair the damaged degenerated intervertebral discs.