If you are dealing with low back pain or sciatica, then you know how difficult it can be to find the right treatment for your condition. Your doctor may recommend physical therapy, exercise or injections for your pain. If your symptoms are severe, you may be referred to a neurosurgeon to help you manage your condition.
Symptoms coming from your back may be felt in various places in your body. These include:
- Pain in the center or one side of your back
- Pain in your buttocks
- Pain or numbness in your thigh or lower leg
- Weakness in your leg or ankle
If you have any of these symptoms, visit your doctor right away to get an accurate diagnosis for your condition. Your doctor can help determine the cause of your pain and can recommend the correct treatment for you.
Back pain or sciatica may be caused by many different problems. These may include:
- Bulging or herniated discs
- Arthritis
- Degenerative disc disease
- Spinal stenosis
If you have any of these conditions and have severe back pain or sciatica, you may benefit from foraminotomy surgery to definitively treat your condition.
What is Foraminotomy Surgery?
A foraminotomy is a surgical procedure that is used to decompress spinal nerves in your back. This is done to relieve pressure on the nerves that are being pinched. During the foraminotomy, your doctor will use specialized instruments to trim back the bones and ligaments that are narrowing your spinal canal.
The openings in your spinal canal where your nerves exit your spinal cord are called foramen. If you have certain conditions, like spinal stenosis or degenerative disc disease, these foramen may become narrowed, pinching on the nerves that exit there. When spinal nerves become pinched, they become inflamed and may cause pain, numbness and tingling or weakness. Foraminotomy surgery is done to remove that pressure from your spinal nerves.
The benefits of foraminotomy surgery include:
- Eliminate or reduce leg pain
- Eliminate or reduce numbness and tingling
- Improve strength
- Restore normal functional mobility
Many New Jersey residents choose to have foraminotomy surgery because it is a safe procedure that offers relief of pain and a rapid return to normal function. Some neurosurgeons perform the surgery with a minimally invasive approach, further adding to the benefits of rapid abatement of pain with minimal risk of infection or blood loss during the surgery.
Benefits of Foraminotomy Surgery in a New Jersey Facility
When considering foraminotomy surgery, many New Jersey residents feel that traveling into a large metropolitan area, like New York City, is the best course of action. They hold the notion that only the big medical centers offer the best care and best facilities. This notion simply is not true.
There are many benefits of having your foraminotomy surgery in a NJ hospital or surgical center. First, staying in New Jersey means that there will be less travel for you and your family. Staying close to home during your surgery makes getting to and from the surgical center a hassle-free endeavor.
When your surgery is complete, you want to quickly return home to start on the road to recovery. A quick trip home from a New Jersey hospital is much more comfortable than having to wrestle with traffic that comes with traveling from large metropolitan areas.
Many New Jersey hospitals and surgical centers are equipped with modern medical diagnostic and surgical devices. Many doctors in NJ also use innovative surgical techniques, like minimally invasive spine surgery, when performing foraminotomy surgery.
When considering foraminotomy surgery, you want to find a New Jersey surgical facility that is not overcrowded. That way, you get personalized attention and services that many crowded metropolitan hospitals simply cannot provide. Your surgical experience should be in a comfortable, modern facility staffed with professionals who understand the best course of treatment for your condition.
Find the Right Doctor for Your Foraminotomy Surgery
Finding a top rated New Jersey surgical facility is an important step when considering foraminotomy surgery. More important than that is finding a top rated neurosurgeon to perform your surgery.
The right doctor for you should listen carefully to your questions and concerns, and he or she should take time to make sure you understand what to expect from foraminotomy surgery. He or she should be able to offer your alternatives to surgery, and you should feel a high level of trust in your doctor. The relationship you have with your doctor should feel like a therapeutic alliance where you are both working together to properly manage your back pain or sciatica.
Facing foraminotomy surgery can cause high anxiety and stress. Taking time to learn about your condition and your surgery, with a trusted neurosurgeon in a top rated facility, can help alleviate that stress. The right doctor–at a modern NJ surgical center or hospital–can help make your experience with foraminotomy surgery a positive one with a superior outcome.
