Suffering From Back Pain?

Suffering-from-Back-PainFrom the Fall 2011 StayHealthy publication

If you've gone to the doctor complaining about pain in your lower back, you are not alone. It is estimated that 10 million American Adults suffer from some type of chronic back pain.

The majority of back problems are related to degenerative conditions associated with the spine that occur as we age. After trying non-surgical treatments such as lifestyle changes, bed rest, medication, physical therapy and steroid injections without success, or if your pain worsens, your doctor may refer you to a spine specialist.

Surgery is a last resort in most cases,” said Orthopedic Spine Surgeon Anton Thompkins, MD. “We try and exhaust every other option first. However, if you do require surgery, there are some new procedures available at Porter that are less disruptive than previous techniques,” he continued.

Thompkins and fellow orthopedic spine surgeon Nick Nenadovich, MD, are performing Interlaminar Lumbar Instrumented Fusion (ILIF™) and Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF™) to treat patients with spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal causing compression on the spinal nerves running through it. Approximately 75 percent of spinal stenosis cases occur in the lumbar (low) spine.

With XLIF, the surgeons approach the spine through small incisions on the side of the body as opposed to accessing it from the front or back. This does not require entry through sensitive muscles, bones or ligaments, resulting in less postoperative pain and reducing the risk of vascular injury during surgery. Once the incisions have been made, the surgeon has excellent access to the disc space allowing for complete removal of the disc. An implant is then inserted, reducing compression on the nerves.


Visit the Porter Health System website
Valparaiso Campus
814 LaPorte Avenue
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: 219-263-4600

ILIF is yet another minimally disruptive, bone preserving type of surgery. During this procedure, bone spurs (not the full disc) and thick ligaments are removed, relieving pressure on the nerve roots. An implant is placed and secured in the resulting space and, over time, bone fuses providing stabilization of the spine.

I have been performing these two types of surgery for more than five years and have been teaching the techniques to others,” shared Thompkins. "Both are excellent ways to decompress the nerves in a safe manner while increasing fusion rates.” He went on to explain that XLIF and ILIF reduce hospital stays by one to two days. “It’s not unusual for patients to be up and walking the day following surgery.”

In the past, the surgical solutions to back pain could sometimes be worse than the symptoms.

Yet, with the options of XLIF and ILIF available at Porter, the days of living with chronic, debilitating pain will hopefully be coming to an end.