To relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves, surgeons can remove portions of bone
to widen the narrowed area in the bones of your spine (vertebrae). Removing the gel-like middle portion of a ruptured disk also may help relieve pressure on pinched nerves. Sometimes your doctor has to remove the entire disk and fuse together the adjoining vertebrae that remain.
Disectomy or Microdisectomy involves removal of the herniated portion of a disk to relieve irritation and inflammation of a nerve. It's done as an open surgery and typically includes full or partial removal of the back portion of a vertebra (lamina) to access the ruptured disk.
A Laminectomy is a procedure involving the removal of the bone that overlays the spinal canal. The surgery enlarges the spinal canal and is performed to relieve nerve pressure caused by spinal stenosis.
Spinal fusion permanently connects two or more bones in your spine. It can relieve pain by adding stability to a spinal fracture. It is occasionally used to eliminate painful motion between vertebrae that can result from a degenerated or injured disk.
Artificial disk implants are a treatment alternative to spinal fusion for painful movement between two vertebrae due to a degenerated or injured disk.
Vertebroplasty is performed for a fractured and/or compressed vertebrae to help stabilize fractures and relieve pain. During this procedure, your surgeon injects bone cement into compressed vertebrae. With a similar procedure, called kyphoplasty, a balloon like device is inserted to attempt to expand the compressed vertebrae before bone cement is injected.