Surgical Treatments

When conservative care, physical therapy, and medication do not ease back pain or increase motion, surgery may be recommended.

The neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons at the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center are specialists who devote their practice to the care of patients with spinal disorders. They specialize in a variety of surgical techniques including minimally invasive procedures that can be done on an outpatient basis.

The Medical Center's surgical facilities feature spine-specific, technically advanced operating rooms, allowing our physicians to provide state-of-the-art care with the latest equipment and the best possible outcomes. Our surgeons are experts in the following conditions and procedures.

Surgical Interventions

• Artificial disc replacement
• Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF)
• Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
• Chiari malformations
• Kyphoplasty
• Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF)
• Scoliosis treatment
• Spondylosthesis
• Transforminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF)
• Vertebral tumors
• Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS)
• Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

A microdecompression is often performed for lumbar disc herniation. The purpose of this procedure is to remove a small portion of the bone (microdiscectomy) over the nerve root and/or disc material from under the nerve root. By doing so, the surgeon is able to relieve the pinched nerve and provide more room for the nerve to heal.