Spinal Instrumentation

Overview :

Spinal instrumentation is performed by a neuro and/or orthopedic surgical team with special experience in spinal operations. The surgery is done in a hospital under general anesthesia. It is done at the same time as spinal fusion.

The surgeon strips the muscles away from the area to be fused. The surface of the bone is peeled away. A piece of bone is removed from the hip and placed along side the area to be fused. The stripping of the bone helps the bone graft to fuse.

After the fusion site is prepared, the rods, hooks, and wires are inserted. There is some variation in how this is done based on the spinal instrumentation chosen. In general, Harrington rods are the simplest instrumentation to install, and Cotrel-Dubousset instrumentation is the most complex and risky. Once the rods are in place, the incision is closed.