SPINAL STENOSIS: Spinal stenosis usually occurs as a person ages and the disks become drier and start to bulge. At the same time, the bones and ligaments of the spine thickens or grow larger due to arthritis or long-term swelling (inflammation).

Spinal stenosis may also be caused by:

-Arthritis of the spine, usually in middle-aged or elderly people

-Bone diseases, such as Paget's disease of bone and achondroplasia

-Defect or growth in the spine that was present from birth (congenital defect)

-Herniated or slipped disk, which often happened in the past

-Injury that causes pressure on the nerve roots or the spinal cord

-Tumors in the spine

Sometimes a spinal fusion is performed to relieve the pressure on the nerves or spinal cord. (Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

SPINAL FUSION RISKS: Spinal fusion is generally a safe procedure. But as with any surgery, spinal fusion carries the potential risk of complications.

Potential complications include:

-Infection

-Poor wound healing

-Bleeding

-Blood clots

-Injury to blood vessels or nerves in and around the spine

-Pain at the site from which the bone graft is taken

Beyond the immediate risks of the procedure, spinal fusion surgery changes how your spine works by shifting stress from the fused vertebrae to adjacent areas of your spine. This added stress may accelerate the process of wear and tear in the vertebral joints on either side of the fusion, causing further damage and possibly chronic pain. (Source: mayoclinic.com)

THE “SPINE ROBOT”: Renaissance, Mazor Robotics' guidance system, enables surgeons to perform safer and more accurate spine surgeries. For patients, this means better clinical outcomes with less pain and fewer complications, enabling a faster recovery and return to daily activities.

Using RenaissanceTM in MIS helps surgeons overcome field-of-view limitations by pinpointing surgical tools to the exact anatomical location, without compromising accuracy, safety and without increasing the length of surgery or radiation levels. So, patients can enjoy the clinical benefits of MIS without the need for additional radiation or compromising on accuracy. (Source: celebrationspinecenter.com)