Can Laser Spine Surgery Fix a Bulging Disc? The Best Alternative

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Can Laser Spine Surgery Fix a Bulging Disc?

Imagine if you had a balloon that was too full and was pressing on something. That's kind of like a bulging disc in your back. It's pressing on your nerves and can cause a lot of pain. Laser spine surgery is like letting some air out of that balloon. It uses a special light (a laser) to make the bulging part of the disc smaller. This helps take pressure off the nerves and can make you feel better. This treatment has helped about 7 out of 10 people.

What is Laser Spine Surgery?

Laser spine surgery is a special kind of surgery that uses a laser to help with bulging disks or other soft tissues that are pressing on the spinal nerves. It's kind of like using a really precise and powerful flashlight to fix the problem. The best part is, it doesn't involve any cutting or scarring, and you don't have to stay in the hospital. You can go home the same day.

If you have chronic pain (that's pain that lasts a long time), and other treatments haven't worked, you might be a good candidate for laser surgery. But if the problem is really big or complicated, laser may not be the best choice.

Laser Spine Surgery vs. Regular Spine Surgery

Laser spine surgery is different from regular spine surgery. In regular spine surgery, the surgeon has to make a big cut in your back and move things around to get to the problem. This can hurt a lot and take a long time to heal. But with laser spine surgery, the surgeon makes a smaller cut and uses a laser to fix the problem. This usually hurts less and heals faster.

What Could Go Wrong and How Long to Get Better

Like any surgery, laser spine surgery can have risks. These include:

• The problem might not be fully fixed
• Pain
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Scarring
• Changes in skin color

There are also some other risks, like burns or other injuries from the laser's heat, changes in the skin's color, reactivating herpes cold sores, bacterial infection, nerve damage, damage to the membrane that surrounds the spinal cord, need for more surgery, symptoms that stay or come back, pneumonia, confusion after waking from the operation, heart attack, stroke, eye infections, big cataracts, glaucoma, big pupils, and keratoconus.

After the surgery, you usually recover faster than with regular spine surgery. You can expect to fully recover within six weeks of the surgery. You might need to do physical therapy for a few weeks after surgery to help with recovery.

Other Ways to Help a Bulging Disc

There are several other ways to help with bulging discs that don't involve surgery. These include:

1. Injection treatments (like getting a shot)
2. Special forms of physical therapy and exercises
3. Complementary and alternative medicine (like acupuncture or massage)

Other options include regular medical treatments like physical therapy, exercise, pain medications, anti-inflammatories, and therapeutic injections. Also, our decompression belt available at Treatopedia.com can be a helpful non-surgical treatment option for bulging discs.

How Much Does It Cost and What Do Patients Say

The cost of laser disc surgery can vary depending on your insurance coverage, the provider, and the facility. For patients not covered by health insurance, the surgery can cost between $20,000 and $50,000 or more. However, laser disc surgery is usually covered by health insurance if ordered by a doctor.

Many patients have had good experiences with laser spine surgery. For instance, patients have said that the procedure resulted in less pain after surgery and a shorter recovery time. However, it's important to note that everyone's experience can be different, and what works for one person may not work for another.