CALL FOR PATIENTS:
A RESCUE SURGERY TO HELP PEOPLE
WITH FAILED SPINAL FUSION SURGERIES
Spinal fusion surgeries are typically performed for people with failed conservative treatments of complicated herniated discs, spinal stenosis, instabilities and previous spinal surgeries most commonly.
Spinal Surgeon Dr. Ken Hansraj wishes to make the public aware that there is hope for these end-stage, most difficult cases.
According to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), approximately 488,000 spinal fusions were performed during U.S. hospital stays in 2011 (a rate of 15.7 stays per 10,000 populations.) The average total hospital costs for spinal fusions was estimated at $81,960 in 2008. The cost to society is about $20 billion per year.
The vast majority of spinal fusions are successful in relieving pain and restoring function. Yet still, a small percent go on to have persistent pain and suffering. This is a difficult place to be in for a patient. Despite having failed conservative therapies first and then subsequently failing these salvage surgeries, they are still in severe unrelenting pain.
As a salvage procedure to help these patients in the worst possible scenario, we developed a protocol to help. In these cases we remove old instrumented hardware and revise the bony fusion. If nerves are compressed, then a decompression or cleanup operation may be necessary.
Spinal fusion is a surgical technique that joins two or more vertebrae. This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine and prevents any movement between the fused vertebrae. There are many types of spinal fusion and each technique involves using bone grafting - either from the patient, donor, or artificial bone substitutes - to help the bones heal together. Additional instrumentation is often used to hold the bones in place while the graft fuses the two vertebrae together. The fusion part of the surgery fusion is enhanced with the patient’s own autologous stem cells.
Twenty patients underwent this protocol. The vast majority is significant better with pain relief with significantly diminished narcotic use and restoration of function.
About Dr. Kenneth K. Hansraj:
Kenneth K. Hansraj, M.D. is a spinal and orthopedic surgeon specializing in cervical, thoracic and lumbar procedures, bloodless spine surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery, laminectomies and spinal fusions. He believes in whole body wellness, preventative care and that the spine is a principal indicator of general health impacted by “human software and hardware.”
Dr. Ken is the author of the internationally bestselling book, Keys to an Amazing Life: Secrets of the Cervical Spine, (January, 2013), which he was inspired to write based on this concept. Dr. Hansraj is also the author of Bloodless Spine Surgery: Pictures and Explanations. His goal with each of his books is to bring years of accumulated expert medical knowledge to the public at-large in an easy-to digest format and to help countless individuals with ongoing spinal and health issues.
Dr. Ken Hansraj is TV and media trained and has extensive experience with national outlets such as CNN, HLN, CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, NPR and has been featured globally. Cision® estimates his current media impressions at 5.5 Billion.
