Why You Should Do Everything You Can To Avoid Spine Surgery

Dr. Sinicropi and the team at the Midwest Spine & Brain Institute are incredibly talented and experienced when it comes to conducting routine and complex spinal procedures, so it may come as a bit of a surprise that we’re penning an article saying that you should do everything you can to avoid spine surgery. We’ll gladly perform the surgery and help guide you on your path to recovery, but for many patients, spine surgery should only be considered as a last resort. In today’s blog, we expand on that idea and explain why, even though surgery has a very high success rate, you should try other options to avoid a spinal procedure if at all possible.

The Benefits Of Avoiding Spine Surgery

Let’s take a look at all of the reasons why it can be so beneficial to do everything you can to avoid a surgical correction for your spine issue.

1. The Cost– For starters, even if you have a great health insurance plan, it’s going to be undoubtedly more expensive to have your spine issue corrected with a surgical procedure than through conservative means. Surgery, the hospital stay and your recovery journey will all have their own costs, and those will add up. From a purely financial standpoint, it makes the most sense to throw yourself into a low-cost conservative treatment plan to avoid the costs associated with surgery.
2. Comparative Risk– Don’t get us wrong, spine surgery is safer than it’s ever been. Complication rates continue to drop across the vast majority of procedures, but compared to a conservative treatment like physical therapy, exercise or weight loss, surgery is the riskier option. Even though the surgeon does a great job controlling for these risks, there’s always the possibility of a complication like blood loss, nerve damage or a reaction to the anesthesia. The risk of a poor reaction to anesthesia is zero when you pursue a conservative treatment plan simply because anesthesia is not needed for this course of care.
3. You May Not Be An Ideal Candidate– We work with patients in all walks of life to help them overcome their spinal issues, and we’ll never turn down someone with significant challenges. With that said, there’s no guarantee that you will even be considered for surgery given your health and other important underlying factors. Don’t just assume that you’ll eventually be able to fall back on a surgical procedure to correct an issue, because your health may make you a high-risk patient who wouldn’t be considered for surgery. We’ll help you find a path forward, but know that surgery isn’t always an option for any and all patients.

We’ll help you find a spine pain treatment that’s right for you, whether that’s a conservative care plan or a more hands-on treatment like corticosteroid injections or surgery. Let us find the right solution for you. Contact Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.

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