Most people have back surgery to relieve pain, but all too often it doesn't help. For the half million people who undergo back surgery each year, and the additional million who are seriously contemplating it, Do You Really Need Back Surgery? is a godsend - an informed, reliable guide to when you should consider surgery and when you should not. Written by an internationally recognized expert in nerve and spinal surgery, this highly readable guide covers everything back patients need to know to make informed decisions about their treatment. The book discusses the details of spinal anatomy; the difference between acute, chronic, and recurring pain; shows how to keep the spine healthy; and explains such terms as spurs, stenosis, and slippage. It also reveals what clues your physician uses to predict whether a given type of pain is likely to go away with rest and exercise, and which types may become emergencies. Dr. Filler discusses the risks of surgery, the decisions you may be faced with and what options you have, and your expectations for recovery. He provides detailed explanations of the wide array of spinal injections and surgeries, including discectomies and fusions, as well as innovative procedures such as electrothermic and laser techniques and artificial disks. He explains the various medical imaging and diagnostic tests available and even covers the complexities of health insurance. From Pilates to pedicle screws, and from osteoporosis to spina bifida, Do You Really Need Back Surgery? covers all the questions your doctor usually doesn't have the time to answer. Featuring more than 80 illustrations, it is an essential manual for every neck or back pain sufferer.

Table of Contents

PART 1: SPINE HEALTH; 1. Acute, Chronic and Recurring: A Quick Tour of Neck and Back Pain; 2. The Nature of Pain and How it is Treated; 3. Keeping the Spine Healthy: Ergonomics for Life; 4. Renewal without Surgery: Schools of Therapy; 5. Anatomy 101: From Bones, Disks and Joints to Mind, Muscles and Nerves; 6. Disks, Spurs, Stenosis; Slippage and Osteoporosis; 7. Spinal Symptoms: Where Does the Pain come from?; 8. Accidents of the Embryo: Spina Bifida and Variations at Birth; 9. Medical Imaging and Diagnostic Tests: X-Rays, Electrons and Magnetic Spin; 10. Recovery and Repair in the Nerves and Spinal Cord; PART 2: SPINE SURGERY; 11. Without an Incision: Percutaneous Procedures for Diagnosis and Treatment; 12. Surgery: Before, During and After - Common Elements You Should Know About; 13. Surgery to Take Pressure off the Nerves; 14. Surgery Inside the Spinal Dural Lining; 15. Spine Carpentry: History and Principles of Rebuilding the Broken Spine; 16. Fixing the Cervical Spine: Surgical Approaches for the Neck; 17. Thoracic Spine Operations: The Surgical Approaches to Mid- and Upper Back Problems; 18. Lumbar Implants and Fusion: Major Surgeries for the Low Back; 19. Genes, Designer Proteins and Biomaterials: The Role of Biotechnology in Spinal Surgery; 20. Risks, Outcomes and Choices; 21. Recovery After Surgery; 22. Health Insurance and the Cost of Surgery

Author Biography

Aaron G. Filler, MD, Ph.D. is one of the world's leading authorities on nerve and spinal surgery. He is Medical Director of both the Institute for Nerve Medicine and the Center for Advanced Spinal Neurosurgery, and is an Associate of the Institute for Spinal Disorders, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles, California.