What is Spine Surgery X-Stop? Who or Who Not Are The Candidates For X-STOP Surgery?

The Spine Surgery X-Stop is a minimally invasive surgical procedure which is performed to alleviate the painful symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis. An X-Stop is a titanium device which is inserted by your surgeon into the back of your spine which helps in preventing you from bending too far backward at the narrowed segment. This is a position for the patients who are dealing with the condition of spinal stenosis due to which the causes like leg pain or lower back pain occur.

Your surgeon will place the X-STOP implant between the spinous processes which is the thin, bony parts that protrude from the back of your every vertebra. The X-STOP is a device that retains your mobility which means that you can easily bend towards things.

1. To Whom Spine Surgery X-Stop is Recommended

The X-STOP is a device which is not recommended for all patients with symptoms of lumbar stenosis. The patients need to fulfill the following criteria to get eligible for an X-STOP procedure:

• The patients have received a clinical diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis which is confirmed by performing an X-ray, CT scan or MRI scan.
• Spine Surgery X-Stop is generally recommended to the patients who suffer from leg pain, buttock pain or groin pain (neurogenic intermittent claudication).
• The patients may or may not have low back pain along with the leg pain.
• Moderate to severe physical impairment on the ability to function which improves their symptoms when they bend forward at the waist.
• The patients who had completed at least six months of non-surgical treatments such as pain medication, physical therapy, epidural injections without satisfactory pain relief.
• The patient should be above the age of 50 years.
• The condition of stenosis present at only one or a maximum of two levels of the spine.

 2.  To Whom Spine Surgery X-Stop is Not Recommended

The surgeons at Spine Surgery India will not recommend the Spine Surgery X-Stop if the patient has the following conditions:

• The patients who have an allergy to titanium or titanium alloy should not undergo the X-STOP procedure.
• In case, your surgeon deducts an infection in your blood or anywhere nears the area of your lower back where the surgery is planned.
• The patients dealing with the condition of spinal anatomy which prevents implantation of the device or can cause the device to be unstable in the patient’s body.
• The patient with any bone fractures or had a diagnosis of any severe osteoporosis.
• Cauda equina syndrome is a condition where spinal nerve compression causes bowel or bladder dysfunction.

Benefits to Spine Surgery X-STOP

The patient’s visit to Spine Surgery India hospitals will get the following the benefits of the Spine Surgery X-STOP:

• The Spine Surgery X-STOP is a safe procedure for lumbar spinal stenosis, and the risk of surgical complications is very less as compared to other procedures.
• The other procedures which have demonstrated the superior relief of symptoms as compared to the non-operative treatments and are based on the validated outcome measures with post-operative follow up between 1 to 4 years. The benefits of having the Spine Surgery X-STOP procedure is that it demonstrated the reduction of pain, improved function, and also improved the quality of life of the patients.
• With the improvement in medical science, the patients who had undergone for the Spine Surgery X-STOP procedure reported a good satisfaction range which is around 70 to 80% up to four years after the Spine Surgery X-STOP procedure and this percentage is increasing rapidly every year.
• The Spine Surgery X-STOP is a less invasive procedure than open laminectomy with fusion surgery.
• The major benefit of having a Spine Surgery X-STOP procedure is that it is very reasonable as compared to laminectomy surgery and there are insurance companies which cover the cost of X-STOP procedure.

How Spine Surgery X-STOP works?

Spine Surgery X-STOP is a minimally invasive surgery, however, in this procedure; the spine surgeons at Spine Surgery India make two to the three-inch incision on the patient’s back, and the surgeons give the general anesthesia so they are not conscious during the time of their surgery. Once the incision has been made by the spine surgeons, they will after that place X-STOP device under the patient’s ligament and between the spinous processes which are the bony plates on the patient’s vertebras at the point where stenosis has been diagnosed.

The X-STOP device is generally used to identify the symptoms of spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine; however, like laminectomy, this procedure does not remove the parts of the wall of the spinal canal. The spine surgeons consider the X-STOP implantation as an indirect decompression.

This procedure is significantly less destructive to the supporting structural tissues which are the bone and the ligaments as compared to the traditional laminectomy procedure. The Spine Surgery X-STOP is a procedure which is shorter than a laminectomy or a laminotomy. The surgeon will take about an hour to complete this procedure and most of the patients are a return to their home on the same day. The spine surgeons also recommend the patient to walk on the day of surgery, as it can help speed the recovery process and facilitate better healing.

Recovery From Spine Surgery X-STOP

Some patients are able to return to their home on the same day of the surgery and some require a short stay in the hospital. For several weeks after the Spine Surgery X-STOP, most of the patients will have some limitations such as:

• Bending backward
• Lifting heavy objects over 20 pounds are not allowed
• Vigorous physical activities such as swimming, golf, running or jogging etc. which put the pressure on the lower back.
• Climbing Stairs

In general, your surgeon will allow you to walk as long as you are comfortable for walking. There are many patients who return to all normal activities with their doctor’s approval within two to six weeks after the procedure.

Your surgeon will recommend you to do physical therapy following your implantation. The physical therapy programs are usually focused on the gentle stretching and strengthening exercises which have a low impact such as walking which help to minimize the risk of blood clots, swelling etc. and also help the patients to heal from the surgery and gain their spine mobility. Before leaving the hospital make sure that you have scheduled your follow-up appointment with your surgeon after six weeks of your Spine Surgery X-STOP.

After your first follow-up, your surgeon will able to estimate your actual recovery time which allows you to live your life normal as earlier prior to your surgery.