This surgery places an implant in your lower spine. We use it to stabilize your spine and relieve the painful compression of degenerative disc disease.
To begin, you're put to sleep. We make a small incision next to your tailbone. We do the entire surgery through this opening, avoiding major muscles, tendons and nerves. We guide a series of tubes through this opening to create a path to your sacrum. That's the large bone at the base of your spine.
We drill a channel through the sacrum and your lowest vertebrae to reach your damaged disc. We break up and remove the inside of this disc. We fill the center of this disc with bone graft.
Now it's time to place the implant. It's a threaded rod that we push through the channel and to your spine. As we turn the rod, your vertebrae lift into their correct position. This relieves pressure on your nerves. For some patients, we may need to use other implants along with the rod to fully stabilize the spine. Over time, your vertebrae will fuse in this position.
When the surgery is done, your incision is closed. You're watched in a recovery room as you wake up. Follow your care plan for a safe recovery.