Spine Surgical Treatment Options
Minimally Invasive Spine Procedures Lead to Quicker Recoveries
Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring and Holy Cross Hospital in Germantown offer comprehensive care for treating conditions affecting both the bone structures in the back and neck, as well as the nerves of the spine.
Our experts at Holy Cross are leaders in developing and adopting advanced, minimally invasive spine procedures. Our neurosurgical and orthopedic surgery teams perform hundreds of successful back and neck procedures each year and have trained hundreds of other specialists in these procedures. Meet our surgeons.
Minimally invasive spine procedures we perform include:
- Vertebroplasty
Vertebroplasty corrects and stabilizes spine fractures and is usually performed on an outpatient basis. Your doctor injects bone cement into the vertebrae that have cracked or broken, often due to osteoporosis. The cement stabilizes the fractures and supports your spine, greatly reducing your pain and returning you to daily activities. - Kyphoplasty
Like vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty is performed to treat compression fractures caused by osteoporosis. In kyphoplasty, your surgeon utilizes a balloon-like device to create space between damaged vertebra in the spine. Then, special cement can be injected into your vertebrae to restore height and help relieve pain. - Microdiscectomy
Microdiscectomy is a procedure that treats pain from herniated disks by removing material in the lower back that is pressing on nerves, causing lower back and leg pain. Microdiscectomy uses a special microscope that provides your surgeon with a larger visual field of the affected disc and nerves. This allows the surgeon to make a smaller incision, resulting in less damage to surrounding tissue. - Foraminotomy
Foraminotomy is a procedure performed to relieve nerve compression, which alleviates symptoms such as pain, stiffness, numbness, and tingling. - Laminectomy
Laminectomy is a type of decompression surgery that relieves pressure on the spinal cord or nerves by enlarging the spinal canal. - Spinal Fusion
Spinal fusion joins together vertebrae by adding bone tissue.
Holy Cross Health spine surgeons also perform more complex, open procedures to meet patients’ needs, such as spinal tumor resection. This surgery removes tumors (benign or malignant) from the spinal column for biopsy and helps to relieve compression of the spinal cord and nerves.
Benefits of Minimally Invasive Surgery
Patients who have minimally invasive surgeries experience less blood loss, fewer surgical complications and shorter hospital stays.
Our experienced surgeons use the latest surgical techniques and equipment. Advanced technology such as microscopes and GPS-like navigation systems help our surgeons guide instruments to the affected area of the spine with pinpoint accuracy, without damaging nearby tissue or structures.
Spine Program Support
Our spine care team at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring and Holy Cross Hospital in Germantown guides your patient experience from the planning stages through recovery. You receive the personal care you deserve and the services you need.
From pre-surgical planning, to arranging the necessary inpatient and outpatient services for recovery, our staff is here to help you through your entire spine surgery experience.
To find a physician, view the Spine Services team, search for a neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon in the physician's directory or call 301-754-8800.