New Back Procedure Has Patients Feeling New In No Time

North Augusta, SC -- Helen Derrick loves to be on the open road with her husband. The couple have enjoyed riding together for more than 40 years, but 2 years ago, severe back and leg pain sidelined her and took her off her bike, and away from her favorite pasttime.

Helen Derrick, back surgery patient: "I had back problems and went to chiropractors for 20 years, and it always helped, but then they x-rayed it and said I had degenerative discs, and this started pinching a nerve because the discs were together, no cushion."

She says steroid injections did not help the pain.

Helen Derrick: "And, it got to a point, I think I would have been in a wheelchair. I could barley walk from 1 room to another."

X-rays showed Helen had collasped disc spaces and that caused the bone to slide over, pinching her nerve roots and causing the pain. The pain was so unbearable she went back to her doctor and, this time, asked for surgery to relieve the pain. Doctor Ellen Shaver performed the Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion, or XLIF procedure on Helen. It is a minimally invasive procedure that does not require cutting the muscle.

Dr. Ellen Shaver, University Hospital Neurosurgeon: "The traditional method of performing a fusion is to go in from the back, but in the XLIF procedure, the patient is instead of being faced down on the table they're placed on their side and instead of coming through the muscles we go through the side of their abdomen and make an incision approximately this big."

When the discs are accessible, the surgeon removes them and prepares the disc for fusion.

Dr. Shaver: "The cage is measured, filled with bone, and slid into the disc space."

The procedure restores the proper disc height and supports the loads put on that spinal segment.

the surgery gave Helen her life back.

Helen Derrick: "With us both being retired, and got this motorcycle, we want to take trips on it or pull it up the mountain behind the camper and be able to ride up there. Now, I think we can do that. It's very important for both of us."

Doctor Shaver says surgery should be the last option. She says 90 percent of the population can get help without it, and should exhaust other options, first.