A new way to perform spinal fusion called AxiaLIF is helping some patients suffering from back pain find relief.  Neurosurgeons at Methodist University Hospital describe the procedure as a radically new and different technique that stabilizes and fuses the spine.

“AxiaLIF is the first truly percutaneous technique used for fusing the last bone in the spine to the first bone in the tailbone,” said Laverne Lovell, MD, a neurosurgeon at Methodist University Hospital. “That simply means we perform the procedure through a small incision in the skin without cutting any muscles or ligaments.”

Surgeons make a small incision above the tailbone. A channel is created by way of a narrow tube passed through the skin along the underside of the tailbone to the diseased or damaged disc which is then removed and replaced with a special bone growth material. A screw is placed through the disc to restore the disc space.

“This surgical procedure has been named the two-stitch surgery because it takes basically two stitches to close the incision,” explained Dr. Lovell.

Robert Peel was the first patient to undergo this procedure at Methodist University Hospital. Before the procedure he was taking a large amount of pain medication to help control his pain.

“I could do anything I that I wanted to do. I would just hurt all the time,” said Peel. “To tell the truth, I thought I was cooked. I didn’t know there was anything I could do to get relief from the pain.”

Since surgery he feels much better and he’s extremely pleased he is taking a lot less pain medication.

“The pain medication made me tired and since I am on less medication now, I have a lot more energy,” said Peel.

No muscles or ligaments are cut, so recovery is much faster and there is a lot less pain after surgery.