What is it?

In instances when back pain primarily due to degenerative disc disease (DDD), or “discogenic pain”, fusion of the spine may be the best treatment option when conservative therapy has been unsuccessful. The object of this type of lumbar spine fusion is to stabilize and restrict the movement of the disc in the lumbar spine that has degenerated and collapsed.

Incidence of DDD?

Between 60 and 80% of the population is affected by significant lower back pain at some point. Being a complex phenomenon, back pain has many possible causes, including muscular, degenerative, arthritic, and neurogenic (nerve) causes. Once identified as discogenic pain, due to the unstable collapse and degeneration of the lumbar disc Lumbar Interbody Fusion-Cages maybe a surgical treatment opinion.

What is the Surgical Procedure?

The interbody spine fusion technique involves stabilizing the spine with bone fusion across a motion segment, thereby restricting motion and therefore pain. This entire process, referred to as interbody fusion, may be done utilizing a bone graft placed within the degenerated disc space, or a bone graft coupled with some type of stabilizing instrumentation (often metal screws called pedicle screws).

The goal of the fusion is with the bone in place the intervertebral space is to fuse the two vertebra into one, and, thereby, stop any unwelcome movement. By stopping movement the patient will form bone that then grows through the openings in the cage or the bone graft to create a solid fusion.  

Expected outcomes