The spinal cord provides structure to the human body apart from housing the vital central nervous system. This spinal cord can sometimes get damaged due to an injury or a disease, requiring a surgery. Although it may seem ominous, spine surgery Virgin Islands are not uncommon.
The Spinal Cord
The spinal cord, also known as vertebrae, is a vertical series of thirty-three bones. It is further divided into five regions.Starting from above, these are: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal.
Common Surgeries
The most common spine surgery in Virgin Islands are:
Cervical arthroplasty: It is a type of joint replacement surgery where an artificial disc is inserted between the vertebrae in the neck.
Anterior lumbar interbody fusion: This surgery fuses bones of the lumbar spine by using an anterior approach.
Lumbar laminectomy: In this type of surgery we remove a bone to relieve pressure on the spiral nerves in the lumbar spine.
PLIF and TLIF: In PLIF we place two small bone graft spacers on each side of the interbody space. There could be a mild retraction of the neurological structures. PILF is a traditional method. Its more modern version, TLIF uses a single bone graft spacer in the middle of the inter body space. There is no retraction of the neurological structures in this method.
Laser spine surgery: Lasers are used to relive back pain.
Spine fusion surgery: One or more vertebrae are joined together to stop them from moving against each other.
