Spine (Neck & Back) Surgery

Spine (Neck & Back) Surgery

Moving your body is difficult and painful when you’ve suffered injury to or degeneration of the neck (cervical spine), mid-back (thoracic spine) or lower back (lumbar spine). When medical treatment and physical therapy fail to relieve your pain, it may be time for spinal surgery.

Using bone scans, MRIs, x-rays and other state-of-the-art diagnostics, we work as a team to accurately diagnose your condition.

Our expert WakeMed neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons and clinical staff use highly advanced technology and minimally invasive techniques that result in smaller incisions, preservation of healthy tissue and quicker recovery.

Trust us to offer the compassionate and comprehensive care you need to return to the activities and people you love.

Conditions We Treat

• Back Pain: A team of specialists collaborate to develop a treatment plan for patients with chronic back pain. While most back pain is relieved by medication, rest, heat and physical therapy, surgery may relieve pain and weakness.
• Degenerative Spinal Conditions: We treat a variety of degenerative conditions including degenerative disc disease, herniated discs and ruptured discs, myelopathy, spinal arthritis, radiculopathies, spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis and more.
• Neck Pain: Neck pain is caused by various conditions, including a degenerative or nerve disorder,  poor posture, stress, an injury or overuse. At WakeMed, our goal is to help each patient get relief from neck pain and to restore function.
• Nerve Disorders & Injuries: These conditions make it difficult for your brain and muscles to communicate, resulting in issues with movement, coordination and balance. If left untreated, they can result in permanent damage. Nerve conditions include degenerative nerve disorders, peripheral neuropathy, weakness and paralysis, among others. Let our expert WakeMed neurologists, neurosurgeons, orthopaedists and clinical experts diagnose and treat your condition.
• Sciatica: Sciatica is pain that travels through the sciatica nerve located along the lower back, hips, buttocks and into both legs. It most often results when a spinal bone spur, herniated disk or spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spine) compresses part of the nerve (typically affecting one leg). It causes inflammation, pain and, sometimes, numbness. Our knowledgeable team at WakeMed has a longstanding history of excellence in diagnosing and treating sciatica.
• Spinal Tumors: Spinal tumors are abnormal growths located either within or surrounding the spinal cord or column. These masses, which often grow very quickly, can be either benign or cancerous. We use our expertise, commitment to excellence and access to innovative treatments to achieve the best outcomes.
• Spinal Cord Injury: Our neurosurgeons have the skills and experience to expertly perform a wide variety of spinal fusion, decompression and disc replacement and removal surgeries.
• Spinal Malformations: Defects in the spine can result from any number of issues, and our goal is to treat these malformations, so you can experience restored function and movement. Malformations we treat include arachnoid cysts, arteriovenous malformations, cavernous malformations, Chiari malformations, scoliosis and spina bifida.
• Vascular Abnormalities and Malformations of the Spine: Our team of compassionate and knowledgeable experts are ready and able to treat vascular abnormalities and malformations. They occur when blood supply to the spine slows, causing pressure or rupture in the affected area. There are three classes of these abnormalities called spinal aneurysms, spinal lesions and neoplastic tumors. Three types of malformations include spinal arteriovenous malformations, arteriovenous fistulas and cavernous malformations.