Dr. McHugh diagnoses the root cause of your spinal deformities to curate the ideal treatment plan for your individual needs. His primary goal is to treat all spider deformities with non-surgical or non-invasive methods, like medications and physical therapy. He only recommends surgical procedures if non-invasive options fail or if you’re suffering from severe spinal curvature.
The surgeon may also consider the patient’s age while curating a treatment plan. Pediatric patients generally experience rapid curve progression because their bodies aren’t done growing, but adult patients have fully-formed bodies, so they’re less likely to experience curve progression. Spinal deformity surgery is necessary if your severe curvature interferes with the surrounding organs or causes severe pain.
The following are the primary goals of our spine deformity surgery on Long Island:
- Reducing pain.
- Restoring optimal posture.
- Taking pressure off the surrounding organs.
- Preventing deformity progression.
Most spinal deformity surgeries have two components: correcting the deformity and restoring the spine. Correcting the deformity may take several forms, depending on the root cause of your deformity. The surgeon may have to remove the problematic component, such as a compromised or damaged intervertebral disc.
Restoring the spine usually involves special implants and bone grafts. The surgeon may use screws, rods, cages, or plates to re-stabilize the spine, holding it in a new position. Following the implant fixation, the surgeon may fuse bone grafting material into the compromised vertebrae to encourage bone growth.
The implant fixation provides short-term stability while the bone grafting fusion ensures long-term stability.
