Spinal Canal Stenosis

Spinal canal stenosis, which manifests itself more in advanced ages, is among the common causes of back and leg pain and dysfunction; It significantly reduces the quality of life of the person it knocks on.

What are the symptoms of spinal canal stenosis?

Calcification of the joints, changes in the bone and connective tissues around the spinal cord and nerve root canal, and wear of the discs between the vertebrae are symptoms of narrow spinal canal.

The disease manifests itself most frequently with low back pain, leg pain, hip-to-leg pain that prevents walking, and urinary incontinence. The quality of life of people who apply with these complaints gradually decreases. Complaints of people depend on the posture of the body and increase with upright and weight-bearing positions, and decrease with forward leaning or unloaded postures.

How is spinal canal stenosis treated?

Narrow spinal canal disease is primarily tried to be treated with painkillers, injections to the waist and physical therapy. In cases where these methods fail, the only option is to surgically widen the spinal canal. The purpose of the surgical treatment of the narrow spinal canal causing the complaint; It is to protect many anatomical structures and the biomechanical function (load-bearing and mobility) of the lumbar spine while removing the compression of the spinal cord and the nerves coming out of it. Traditional surgical methods are performed by removing bone tissue in a large area. Thus, the spinal cord and nervous tissue are relieved, but this leads to the deterioration of the function of the spine. As a result, additional screw surgery is required for the patient. The long operation time, large amount of blood loss, painful and long post-operative recovery period and high failure rates are also the disadvantages of these old methods.

Rapid developments in radiological imaging methods (MR) provide great benefit in the detailed detection of soft and bone tissues that cause spinal canal stenosis. In the microsurgery method applied, a 2–4 ​​cm skin incision (for 1–5 levels of stenosis) is made, depending on the level of congestion. It is entered by the leg that hurts the most, and proceeding through the canal, both sides are widened through the canal and the spinal cord and nerve tissues are relieved. With this surgical technique, which causes the least damage to the tissue on the entered side, the anatomical structures on the opposite side are not damaged at all. Since the weight-bearing and mobility of the spine is not impaired, the patient is carried out 3 hours after the operation and can even be discharged 4 hours after the operation.

While there is no suture in the operation performed with the microsurgical method, the dressing can be removed and a bath can be made two days later. While the patient is allowed to sit and walk and go up and down stairs after the surgery, it is recommended that patients do not sit for more than 20 minutes at a time. The gymnastics program is started 15 days after the operation.

The results obtained in spinal canal stenosis surgeries with microsurgery technique are extremely successful. This surgical technique is compared to other surgical techniques that the elderly are very afraid of; It is especially recommended because of the low bleeding, the possibility of returning to the social life of the person in a short time and the comfort of surgery.