Laser Spine Surgery with NJ’s Best Spinal Surgeons

One of the most frequently asked questions that our team of The New Jersey Spine Specialists face is whether a patient is a candidate for “laser” spine surgery. The word laser sounds extremely cutting edge and appealing. As surgeons who favor minimally invasive surgery whenever possible, we were hopeful and enthusiastic that laser spine surgery would offer new beneficial treatment options for our patients. Unfortunately, with regards to spine surgery, the laser tends to be more hype than substance.

Lasers have been in use in surgical procedures for decades, but when it comes to spine surgery, they have not been shown to be effective. Of the many thousands of scientific articles on various aspects of spinal surgery, almost no well-designed trials have demonstrated a benefit to laser surgery. Lasers can generate excessive heat that can be damaging to the sensitive nerve issues in the spine. An internet search of “failed” or “problems with” laser spine surgery will usually shed some light on its shortcomings.

The Truth About Laser Spine Surgery from Our Spine Surgeons

It is somewhat dismaying to say that the truth is that the most common use of laser spine surgery is for marketing.  Laser spine institutes aggressively market the term laser spine surgery because of its appeal to patients. A patient asking to have laser spine surgery because they have heard the term in marketing appeals is akin to walking in to a car dealership and asking for a car that uses “nanotechnology” or “microchips.”  The term that these laser spine institutes market sounds futuristic, but it may not apply. Many of the doctors marketing laser spine surgery are not spine surgeons, but are pain management specialists or other non-surgeons looking for a marketing angle. At The New Jersey Spine Specialists, we are not aware of any well published and mainstream thought leaders in spine surgery who are capable of both laser and microsurgery who choose laser surgery.

The good news is that you no longer have to fall for the marketing tactics that these laser spine institutes deploy. There are now many newer and less invasive surgical options using microsurgical techniques that allow for safe and proper treatment of spinal problems while minimizing tissue damage and allowing for a faster recovery. At the New Jersey Spine Specialists, we try whenever possible to use the least invasive technique tailored to each patient’s specific problem.  There are times when more traditional spine surgery is necessary, but superior implants and biologic adjuvants have improved these procedures as well.  Our focus at The New Jersey Spine Specialists is always to properly educate our patients about their condition so that we can work together to choose the treatment that works best for them and their lifestyle.

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