Back pain isn’t something you want to mess around with. Whether the pain is from an injury or a degenerative condition, relief is the only thing you want. Many conservative treatments help minor low back pain, but when it’s severe, surgery might be the best option for long-lasting relief.
At Alliance Orthopedics, our team of pain specialists helps you determine what’s causing your discomfort, and the best route of treatment. Our doctors and surgeons specialize in many different treatment options, including robotic surgery for laminectomies, discectomies, and spinal fusions.
What is robotic surgery?
When you hear spine surgery do large incisions, complicated procedures, and a long recovery time come to mind? In the past, you would’ve been correct. However, spine surgery has come a long way, largely due to robotic-assisted surgery.
Robotic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that’s used for a variety of conditions. The technology allows our surgeons to perform the most intricate and complicated procedures with advanced precision and control. Whether it’s spine surgery or a joint replacement, robotic surgery helps our surgeons achieve the best results with the least amount of surgical trauma.
So how does this type of surgery work? The robot doesn’t take the place of our surgeons, it simply gives them better control and precision than they would have on their own. Our surgeons control the robot from a computer close to the operating table, controlling the arms of the robot, which is already programmed with your specific anatomy.
It’s important to note that the robot can’t act on its own — it needs our surgeons to perform the procedure. However, the machine does give better results than traditional manual spine surgery.
Benefits of this procedure
One of the biggest benefits of robotic surgery is that it’s done using minimally invasive techniques. This means less scarring for you and less recovery time. However, there are other benefits as well:
1. Smaller incisions
The incisions that our surgeons make with robotic surgery are significantly smaller than those that would be made with traditional open surgery. This is a huge benefit because it means less tissue damage and overall less scarring.
2. Shorter hospital stay
Pain after surgery prevents you from moving, and lack of movement means a longer hospital stay. With this procedure, you get up and move around sooner and go home earlier — maybe even the day after surgery.
3. Less risk of infection
The larger incisions necessary with traditional open spine surgery increase your risk of infection is also higher with open surgery. Robotic surgery reduces chances of infection because it’s minimally invasive.
4. Less blood loss
Smaller incisions mean less blood loss. Robotic surgery also limits the amount of tissue damage, so bleeding is limited both internally and externally.
5. Less pain after surgery
With robotic surgery, you’ll spend less time in the operating room, and your tissues undergo far less trauma. While you may not describe your post-operative experience as completely pain-free, you can expect your pain level to be less severe and shorter-lived than with traditional surgery.
Conditions treated with robotic surgery
While there are many procedures that can be performed with robotic technology, at Alliance Orthopedics, our surgeons use it mainly for back procedures. Your spine is a very complex part of your body, and robotic surgery gives our surgeons the precision needed to get rid of your pain for good. Some of the common procedures we use this for include:
- Laminectomy
- Discectomy
- Spinal fusion
- Scoliosis correction
- Failed back surgery
Don’t continue to suffer from stubborn back pain. If surgery is your next step, call one of our four convenient locations in New Jersey, or book a telehealth visit or regular visit online today.