Recent advances in medical technology have changed the face of spine surgery, providing more minimally invasive options for patients. While spine surgery used to require a long, painful recovery, minimal incisions and microsurgery have helped minimize pain and speed recovery in recent years. FVRH is committed to providing the surgical expertise and innovative technology needed to stay at the forefront of spine treatment. Among the procedures we perform, you’ll find:

• Total disc replacement — Used as an alternative to disc fusion, total disk replacement uses titanium and plastic to replace worn out intervertebral discs. Depending on the patient’s condition, it may be a preferred technique as it allows for more natural motion of the spine.
  
• Percutaneous spine fusion — Using minimal incisions, this technique allows for a fusion but with shorter recovery and hospital stay.
  
• Kyphoplasty/vertebroplasty — A new, minimally invasive treatment for compression fractures (usually osteoporotic), kyphoplasty uses a balloon  and specially prepared bone cement to stabilize  the fractured area of the vertebrae.   It requires no large incisions and patients can often go home the same day or the next day. 
  
• Laminoplasty — Used to relieve spinal cord compression in the cervical spine at multiple levels, laminoplasty (similar to a laminectomy) hinges the lamina to one side and rotates it away from the spinal cord. The procedure is performed at the back of the spine without the use of a spinal fusion. This is just one the new techniques offered at Fountain Valley.
  
• Microdiscectomy — This minimally invasive surgical technique is employed to remove a herniated disc. As with most laparoscopic procedures, a small tube with a camera is inserted through a mini incision, allowing surgeons to view and remove herniated disc fragments.  Patients  can often go home the same day. 
  
• Lumbar decompression/fusion with or without instrumentation— For degenerative conditions involving the spine including arthritis, lumbar spine fusion is the preferred treatment. Our surgeons are specially trained to perform these procedures. At Fountain Valley, the renowned surgeons that helped develop the technology are the experts that perform the procedures. 
  
• Anterior/posterior fusion — For patients with a high degree of spine instability, such as from a fracture, anterior/posterior fusion may be used. Surgeons fuse both the front and back of the spine, providing a better opportunity and more stability for bone fusion to occur.
  
• Cervical decompression/fusion — When there is compression on the spinal cord and nerves, decompression combined with fusion is used to relieve the pressure and then stabilize the spine.