What is Kyphosis Surgery?

Kyphosis is the name for the spinal condition where people develop humps in their backs, and kyphosis surgery is designed to correct this problem. The surgery has the potential to straighten a person's spine and also correct any pain issues that patients might be dealing with. It's normally used only as a last resort, and doctors will generally try things like rehabilitation first. Even if other methods aren’t successful in correcting the problem, doctors are still hesitant to resort to surgery unless the situation forces them to.

During the operation, doctors put the spine into a better alignment, and then they will tighten everything down with screws and other special instruments designed for holding bones in place. This is all done in a way that will allow a portion of the spine to fuse together. Sometimes doctors may rely on a separate piece of bone grafted in to create a foundation for everything to grow together correctly. After kyphosis surgery, the part of the spine that was straightened is often unable to bend or flex in any way. The extent of this lack of flexibility will vary depending on the size of the area that was fused.

Recovering from this kind of surgery can take a long time, although that depends on how extensive the particular operation was. Initially, there is generally a lot of pain for patients to deal with, and regaining full mobility is usually a slow process. Patients generally have to be careful because there is always a risk of injuring the spine before the fusion can finish healing, and this could lead to severe damage.

Sometimes after kyphosis surgery, patients might suffer some level of nerve damage that could lead to paralysis and motor problems. There are also some surgeries that don’t heal properly, and some patients do suffer injuries after the operation that require doctors to perform further surgeries. All these risks are the main reasons why doctors are generally hesitant to use surgery on people suffering with kyphosis.

When doctors do resort to surgery, it is usually for a couple of different common reasons. Sometimes kyphosis can be a progressive disorder, and doctors may have to do surgery to stop someone’s condition from worsening. In other cases, patients may be suffering with severe pain from kyphosis, and if other treatment methods fail, surgery may be the final option. Certain people want kyphosis surgery for cosmetic reasons, but the operation is usually considered too risky to attempt unless there are other, more pressing health issues.