can occur due to trauma to any part of the spine from the cranium to the upper lumbar region where the spinal cord terminates. Trauma to the spinal cord is commonly associated with damage to the spine itself.
Spinal cord injury presents with severe pain, limited mobility, or paralysis after a specific accident or trauma to the spine.
Patients with spinal cord injury need to be thoroughly examined by our doctors to assess any preservation of function, including peri-anal and rectal examinations and testing of all reflexes and motor and sensory functions. Wherever possible, radiographic studies (x-rays, CT scan) need to be performed in a timely manner. An MRI is indicated wherever possible to identify the injured spinal cord and any foreign tissues in the spinal canal, such as a fragment of bone or disc material.
Surgery to correct a spinal deformity that narrows the spinal canal is often performed but is unlikely to reverse any major spinal cord dysfunction; however, removing bone or disc material from the spinal canal in a timely basis can promote the recovery of an incompletely injured cord. Patients with cervical spinal fractures are often placed in traction to try to realign the spinal canal to relieve any ongoing pressure on the spinal cord. Some spinal injuries, that result in spinal cord trauma, are stable and do not require surgery. In the cervical spine, fractures are sometimes treated with immobilization devices such as a halo external fixation device. Unstable fractures in the thoraco-lumbar region may require instrumented fusion.
Spinal tumors are any type of neoplasm or growth on the spinal cord. Spinal tumors may be cancerous or benign. Cancerous spinal tumors may be a metastasis from cancer elsewhere in the body or it may be a primary tumor (that is, the first cancerous tumor in the body). Benign spinal tumors are also dangerous, in that they can place pressure on the spinal cord and nearby structures, causing pain, lead to paraplegia or tetraplegia and other symptoms. Any type of spinal tumor is a serious medical condition requiring immediate and expert medical intervention.
Spinal tumors are serious medical conditions that require the expert care offered by our doctors. Steroids can be administered to reduce inflammation caused by spinal cord compression. This may decrease pressure and reduce pain, but it does not affect the tumor itself. In some instances, the tumor may be treated with radiation therapy. Surgery is sometimes possible, during which all or a portion of the tumor can be removed.
In some cases, the tumor can destabilize the vertebral column. Further surgery may be appropriate in such patients to help stabilize and strengthen the spine.
Since every patient is unique and tumors can vary greatly depending on their size, location, effect, and origin, our doctors will discuss treatment options and prognoses on an individual basis
Our spine is subjected to wear and tear, and the degeneration of the disc may cause it to bulge, thereby compressing the spinal cord. This will produce pain in the neck, back, or leg, and even numbness and weakness.
These degenerative disorders are diagnosed by imaging studies taken using a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine.
Treatment varies based on the severity of the condition.
Conservative treatment, like medication, rest, and physiotherapy, will be the first line of treatment used.
Surgical intervention is only used for people with severe and painful symptoms so as to provide relief from pain. Options include:
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a procedure used to treat neck problems such as cervical radiculopathy, disc herniations, fractures, and spinal instability. In this procedure, the surgeon enters the neck from the front (the anterior region) and removes a spinal disc (discectomy). The vertebrae above and below the disc are then held in place with bone graft and sometimes metal hardware. The goal is to help the bones to grow together into one solid bone. This is known as fusion.
The anterior approach of this surgery, which means that the surgery is done through the front of the neck as opposed to the back of the neck, has several typical advantages:
Better access to the spine. The anterior approach can provide access to almost the entire cervical spine, from the C2 segment at the top of the neck down to the cervico-thoracic junction, which is where the cervical spine joins with the upper spine (thoracic spine).
Less postoperative pain. Spine surgeons often prefer this approach because it provides good access to the spine through a relatively uncomplicated pathway. All things being equal, the patient tends to have less incision pain from this approach than from a posterior operation.
A small cervical plate is used to stabilize the spine immediately after surgery, and also to decrease the chance that the bone graft might be dislodged or moved slightly from the position that it was placed in by the surgeon. Today, collars are typically worn for a shorter period of time after surgery than in the past, because of the use of the plates.
Inborn Defects of Spine refers to neurological disorders related to malformations of the spinal cord. Tethered spinal cord syndrome is a type of spinal dysraphism.
In this congenital malformation of the spine, the spinal cord is attached to surrounding tissue. Failure to detect a tethered spinal cord can lead to a sudden catastrophic injury during childhood or adolescence, such as paralysis.
Tethered spinal cord can be diagnosed through the detection of certain skin abnormalities along the midline of the back. Diagnosis may be confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and surgery is usually indicated to prevent any future neurological damage.
The purpose of surgery is to correct the physical malformation. As these children are born with their spinal cord exposed to the skin, this must be repaired early to prevent infection and neurological deficits
Adult Tethered Cord is characterized by a spinal cord that is located at an abnormally low position within the spinal canal. The position in which it comes to rest in an adult (L1 or L2) is caused by the growth of the individual. Tethered cord results when the spinal cord cannot normally ascend with growth, which causes it to stretch or become damaged.
Treatment: How tethered cord is treated is based on the underlying cause. If the only abnormality is a thickened, shortened filum, then a limited lumbo-sacral laminectomy with division of the filum may be sufficient to relieve the symptoms.