Spinal Surgery at West Midlands Hospital

What is spinal surgery?

Spinal surgery is a surgical treatment to manage a range of problems associated with your spine. It diagnoses and treats spinal disorders and conditions to provide pain relief, improve functionality, and avoid permanent impairment.

Spinal surgery is used to treat:

Herniated or ruptured discs – where one or more of the discs that cushion your spine bones are damaged.
Spinal stenosis – is a narrowing of your spinal column that puts pressure on your spinal cord and nerves.
Spondylolisthesis - where one or more bones in your spine slip out of place.
Vertebral fractures - caused by osteoporosis or injury to your spinal bones.
Degenerative disc disease or spinal disc damage - can happen as you get older.

Neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons who specialise in spinal surgery perform back surgery.

Back surgery is considered when conservative treatments have not worked and your pain remains persistent and is impacting the quality of your life. It involves decompressing, moving, fixing, and replacing vertebral structures to relieve back pain.

There is some debate as to which is the most common spine surgery. Often the most frequently performed spinal surgeries are carried out together such as spinal decompression and fusion and microdiscectomy with lumbar decompression.

The three most common spine surgeries are:

Discectomy - removes a disk when it has herniated and is pressing on a nerve root or your spinal cord. Your disc may be replaced with an artificial disc to help preserve your flexibility. This procedure is often performed by the minimally invasive technique called microdiscectomy. Laminectomy and discectomy are frequently performed together.
Laminectomy - is also called spinal decompression. It is performed if you have spinal stenosis and involves removing part of your vertebral bone to open up your spinal column and relieve pressure on your nerves. Bone spurs, ligaments, or a section of the bone from the spine may be removed. If you have significant bone removal in a laminectomy, your spine may be destabilised and require spinal fusion.
Spinal fusion - permanently joins two or more vertebral bones in your spine to prevent unwanted movement from occurring. When the vertebrae are fused, the joint cannot move. This adds stability and can alleviate pain caused by vertebrae grinding together or moving and causing nerve pinching. It is typically done in small groups of vertebrae to ensure that you are still able to bend and move flexibly with few limitations.

Additional spinal surgeries include: vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, foraminotomy, disc replacement, and interlaminar implant.

The cost of a spinal surgery with Ramsay Health Care will depend on your spinal condition or injury, your spinal procedure, the diagnostic tests required, and your chosen Ramsay hospital.

Following your consultation with a spinal surgeon, you will receive a written cost quote. This quotation is guaranteed for 60 days and includes unlimited aftercare.

Ramsay is recognised by all major medical insurers. Most schemes cover spinal surgery. We advise you to obtain written authorisation from your medical insurance provider before your procedure.

We have a number of finance options to pay for your spinal surgery. These include: interest-free finance with no deposit and monthly instalments at 0% interest, a one-off pre-agreed payment for All-inclusive Total Care that comes with unlimited aftercare, and pay-as-you-go that offers flexible funding to pay as and when costs arise.

The recovery process after a spinal surgery will depend on the exact surgery you have, the severity of your back condition, your pre-surgery fitness level, and your age. You should follow your spinal surgeon’s advice for recovery.

Recovery after a discectomy is generally shorter than a laminectomy or fusion surgery.

Full recovery after a microdiscectomy can take up to six weeks. Most people leave the hospital the same day or within 24 hours. A physiotherapist will give you advice on exercises to improve the strength and flexibility of the muscles around your spine. Exercising your spine will help you to recover sooner. You can expect to be off work for a week or two or longer if your job involves heavy lifting.

After a laminectomy or spinal fusion, you can go home after about one to four days. A physiotherapist will work with you to help you safely regain strength and movement. Most people go back to work after four to eight weeks, providing their job isn't too strenuous. If you have a strenuous job or it has lots of driving, you may need to stay off work for three to six months.

We will arrange a follow-up appointment with your spinal surgeon to see how you are getting on after your surgery.

At Ramsay Health Care, we offer a comprehensive range of spinal surgeries to help improve your mobility and reduce your back pain if conservative treatments do not work. We understand how painful and debilitating back pain can be and our aim is to get you back to enjoying your usual activities again.

Our highly skilled surgeons use the latest technologies and techniques for spinal surgery including percutaneous coblation and percutaneous endoscopic discectomy to destroy or remove a damaged disc using tiny instruments inserted through tiny cuts.

Spinal treatment with Ramsay Health Care is carried out by our multidisciplinary team that comprises expert orthopaedic and pain management consultants, nurses, physiotherapists, and radiologists. We provide a rapid and accurate diagnosis of your back pain using the latest diagnostic equipment. Non-invasive treatments such as physiotherapy, injections, medication, and pain management techniques are available as well as spinal surgery.

Whatever your back problem, be it back pain caused by arthritis or a slipped disc, our specialist team will provide the best treatment to help increase your mobility, provide pain relief and support a better quality of life.

West Midlands Hospital Specialists

Mr Sujit Agarwal

Mr Sujit Agarwal is a Consultant Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgeon in Halesowen, West Midlands
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Mr Mushtaq Ahmed

Mr Ahmed is a Consultant Orthopaedic surgeon in the West Midlands, specialising in Sports injuries, Arthroscopic Knee Surgery and treatment of lower back pain
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Mr Tanweer Ashraf

Mr Tanweer Ashraf is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, specialising in Knee Surgery in the West Midlands
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Mr Rajeev Bansal

Mr R Bansal is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Halesowen, West Midlands who specialises in shoulder and elbow surgery.
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Mr Muhammad Sohail Butt

Mr Sohail Butt is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in the West Midlands and Birmingham, specialising in shoulder, elbow, hand and wrist surgery
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Mr Fouad Chaudhry

Mr Fouad Chaudhry is a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon in the West Midlands specialising in hip and knee surgery
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Professor Edward Davis

Professor Davis is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Stourbridge and the West Midlands, specialising in hip and knee surgery
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Mr Kowshik Jain

Mr Kowshik Jain is a Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon in the West Midlands who specialises in Foot and Ankle Surgery
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Mr Edward Laugharne

Mr Edward Laugharne is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Halesowen, West Midlands who specialises in hip and knee replacement surgery)
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Mr Andraay Leung

Mr Leung is a Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon in the West Midlands.
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Mr Sabur Malek

Mr Sabur Malek is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in the West Midlands who specialise in Hip and Knee Surgery
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Mr Alastair John Niall Marsh

Mr Alastair John Niall Marsh is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in the West Midlands, specialising in Foot and Ankle Surgery.
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Mr Qutub Qadri

Mr Qutub Qadri is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon specialising in hip, knee, foot and ankle, working in the West Midlands.
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Mr Sohail Quraishi

Mr Sohail Quraishi is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in the West Midlands who specialises in hip and knee surgery.
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Mr Maneesh Sinha

Mr Maneesh Sinha is an Orthopaedic Consultant in the West Midlands specialising in upper limb surgery
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Mr Manoj Veettil

Mr Manoj M Veettil is a Trauma & Orthopaedics Consultant in the West Midlands who specialises in Hip and Knee surgery
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Mr Matthew Waites

Mr Matthew Waites is a Consultant Orthopaedic surgeon in the West Midlands who specialises in Hip and Knee surgery
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