Types of Surgery

At Gold Coast Spine our first job is to identify the source of your symptoms.  We do this by talking to you about your symptoms, conducting a thorough examination and organising the most appropriate investigations to be done.  We find that taking these steps each time leads to a precision diagnosis for our patients in most cases. We insist on a thorough diagnostic approach as, without it, treatment outcomes can vary.  Without a diagnosis the treatment offered may not be the correct one for your individual problem.

In most cases the most appropriate treatment will not be surgery.

Once we have reached a precision diagnosis, we can help you decide on a treatment plan that best suits your needs.  It can be as simple as making better lifestyle choices, like stopping smoking, losing weight or changing the way you exercise.

Personal factors that commonly lead to a patient deciding to proceed with surgery usually include unmanageable pain, reduced function (including the inability to perform your daily tasks and pastimes) and uncertainty about the future. Medical factors include spinal instability, spinal deformity and nerve damage. Patients who decide to proceed with surgery usually have a combination of these factors.

If other treatments have failed and the time is right to consider spine surgery, we have the skills to offer treatment through the many surgical approaches to the spine. These include anterior (front), lateral (side), posterior (back) or a combination of more than one of these approaches.  We recommend minimally invasive approaches if it is appropriate to your condition and will give you an outcome at least as good as traditional open approaches.  We also use technology-  such as robotics – when we feel it will assist in giving the best outcome from your surgery.

We will talk with you about the advantages and disadvantages of the different treatment options available for your condition.  As part of this, we will discuss the different types of surgery available.  We will outline the expected outcomes based on our own clinical experience and the best external evidence from around the world.  We will answer your questions and provide information about what to expect from the surgery.  Following this, it is important that you take time to consider your decision and discuss your options with your GP, your family, and if you wish another specialist doctor.

Please note, detailed information on the procedures performed by Prof Matthew Scott-Young is coming soon.