If you or a loved one have been living with moderate to severe lumbar spinal stenosis, you know just how painful and debilitating this condition can be. Lumbar spinal stenosis can lead to pain, weakness, numbness, and tingling in the back, legs, and arms. This spinal condition causes pressure to be placed on the spinal column as the spinal canal begins to narrow.
Fortunately for people suffering from spinal stenosis, treatment options are available that can greatly reduce pain and help restore normal function to the body and spine. While spinal fusion is the typical surgical solution to spinal stenosis when nonsurgical treatments have failed, there is another option which helps protect the mobility of the spine known as Coflex surgery.
What is Coflex?
Coflex surgery is an alternative surgery to spinal fusion, also known as arthrodesis. This method of spinal surgery was developed in 1994 by Jacques Samani, a French orthopaedic surgeon. The surgery involves the implantation of the Coflex Interlaminar Stabilization device. The Coflex device is a small, u-shaped titanium implant which comes in five different sizes to match the needs of an individual patient’s anatomy.
Following a decompression surgery to treat the area of the spine affected by spinal stenosis, the Coflex device is implanted between lower back bones. This durable and flexible device helps sustain the relief provided by spinal decompression while still maintaining the full range of motion of the spine.
Coflex surgery is a minimally invasive procedure and can be performed in an outpatient setting. Your surgeon will implant the Coflex device directly after your spinal decompression. In many cases, patients are able to leave the outpatient center the same day surgery is performed or the day after.
Benefits of Coflex
In order to properly perform a spinal decompression, surgeons must remove any bone or tissue placing pressure on the spinal cord and causing pain. The process of spinal decompression can often leave the operated area of the spine weak. When performed without the addition of a Coflex implant, patients have a higher probability of needing future procedures.
However, Coflex can improve the outcome of surgical decompression.The Coflex implant has been shown to have a number of benefits to patients who elect to get the implant alongside surgical decompression including:
- Improved range of motion and walking distance
- Less epidural steroid injections required following surgery
- Greater maintenance of spinal canal freedom and decompression
The durability and strength of the U-shaped titanium design of the Coflex implant helps keep the operated area of the spine strong and stable even after bone and tissue have been removed. With the ability to flex and bend with the movements of the body, Coflex can preserve the spine’s natural flexion and extension motion.
In a European study of patients receiving Coflex surgery compared to patients receiving decompression alone, Coflex patients were less likely to be using opioids. These Coflex patients sustained longer lasting pain relief after a two year period following surgery.
However, it is always important to note that every patient is an individual case and results can vary from patient to patient. Remember to speak with your physician and your surgeon to determine if Coflex surgery may be the right treatment for your spinal stenosis.
Coflex vs. Spinal Fusion
For many patients suffering from lumbar spinal stenosis, spinal fusion is often used alongside decompression. Spinal fusion can help provide support and stability to the areas of the spine that have been weakened during decompression. The goal of spinal fusion is to restrict or limit movement in the area of the spine that is causing the patient pain.
However, Coflex surgery has been shown to be a viable alternative to traditional spinal fusion and may even provide better results. When compared to pedicle screw fusion, Coflex surgery was a faster operation. Coflex patients also spent less days in the hospital following their surgery and experienced less blood loss during the procedure.
Another advantage Coflex was shown to have over fusion surgery was a speedier recovery time. Not only did patients recover faster from surgery, but they also experienced relief from symptoms sooner than fusion patients. This included both immediate and long-term relief of back and leg pain from stenosis.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to opt for Coflex surgery over spinal fusion is the preservation of normal range of motion for your spine.
Spinal fusion fuses two vertebrae together through bone grafts or screws to form one solid bone mass. While this is effective at relieving pain it does limit the mobility of the spine. However, thanks to the flexibility and shape of the Coflex implant, range of motion in the spine is preserved while still providing relief from symptoms and structural stability to the spine.
Am I a Candidate for Coflex?
Before undergoing Coflex surgery, you must first determine if you are an appropriate candidate for this procedure. As with any spinal surgery, it is important to exhaust your nonsurgical treatment options before surgery is considered. If nonsurgical treatments have proved ineffective and you still suffer moderate to severe impairment from spinal stenosis, you may be a candidate for Coflex.
Candidates should be skeletally mature and suffering from stenosis between the L1-L5 vertebrae. The Coflex device is intended for implantation in this section of the spine for one or two level lumbar stenosis.
If non-operative treatment options have failed to provide significant relief for your stenosis symptoms, it may be time to talk with a surgeon about Coflex. At Florida Surgery Consultants, our team of board certified surgeons are trained and experienced in performing spinal decompression with a Coflex implant.
You don’t have to let lumbar spinal stenosis keep you from living the active and pain free life you want. Give us a call at 833-50-PAINFREE or use the form on this page to schedule a consultation with one of our board certified surgeons today! A better, pain-free life could be just around the corner.
