Spinal Fusion

Spinal fusion is a type of spine surgery in which two or more vertebrae are permanently fused together to reduce the symptoms of spinal compression (when two disks rub against one another) and stabilize the spine. The fusion may be accomplished via instrumentation – specialized hardware such as screws, rods, hooks or wires – or by the placement of a bone graft between the affected disks. Fusion surgeries can be performed using minimally invasive techniques and are often provided in tandem with other procedures such as discectomy or corpectomy in order to provide stabilization to the spine after the removal of bone or disk material. Spinal fusion surgery may be employed to relieve the symptoms of such conditions as spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis or degenerative disk disease when more conservative treatments have been unsuccessful. It is also sometimes required to provide spinal stabilization in patients with scoliosis, vertebral fractures or spinal tumors that have been removed.