Spine Surgery Hospital - University Hospital Sharjah

The spine or backbone is the fundamental support structure for the body which helps connect different components of the musculoskeletal system along with helping with movements like standing, sitting, bending, walking and twisting. The spine has a curvy structure that helps protect the body from shock and injury and comprises nerves, bones, discs and the spinal cord. Back injuries and spinal cord issues can harm the spine, resulting in back pain and other problems.

UHS is the top spine surgery hospital in the UAE, offering sophisticated and world-class spine surgery services to help patients suffering from a broad range of spine-related issues. All spinal issues are treated endoscopically less than 1 cm incision. Our medical team consists of highly experience spine surgeons from South Korea alongside other medical experts in pain management, physiotherapy and more.

Vested with world-class amenities, the spine surgery department at University Hospital Sharjah provides the cure and management of a wide array of spinal disorders by UHS utilizing the world’s best technology to execute spine surgeries.

The cartilage pillow tissues in the middle of the lumbar vertebrae contain a firm lining known as the annulus fibrosis, also referred to as a disc. When this disc dislocates outwardly between the two vertebrae, it is called a herniated disc. Its symptoms include weakness in the legs and feet, pain in the legs and lower back. A herniated disc requires surgery if its condition does not get better through exercise and medication.

The bulging of the pillow tissues between the vertebrae is called a Cervical disc herniation with early symptoms like neck pain, arm pain, stiffness, nausea, dizziness, tingling sensations, weakness in the hands, loss of strength in arms and legs, balance dysfunction, trouble in walking as well as urine incontinence. A patient with herniated cervical disc might require surgery if the symptoms persist despite medication.

When the quantity of fluid between the vertebrae reduces, it causes Lumbar Spinal Stenosis. It hardens the discs, shifting them in the direction of the spinal canal. The facet joints present between the vertebrae might undergo the same issue constricting the canal structure. It pressurizes the nerve root generating symptoms like pain in the back, legs and numbing sensations. After evaluating the condition, surgery could be prescribed for decompression- to make space for the spinal cord and nerve roots. It helps alleviate pain caused by nerve inflammation, improve motor strength in arms and legs and replenish the lost sensations in the arms/ legs.

Spinal Trauma could happen due to several factors ranging from falls, accidents, bumps, lifting heavy loads, etc. Conditions as severe as vertebrae fractured and slip discs might occur. Surgery becomes imperative to treat Spinal Trauma if it requires the removal of bone shards, foreign objects or fixing fractured-vertebrae causing compression to the spine. The objective of surgery post-Spinal Trauma is often to reinstate spinal stability to inhibit the appearance of pain or deformity in the future.

Scoliosis, also called Spinal Curvature, is likely to occur at an early age- before the age of ten and can grow further with physical development, causing a sideways curvature in the spine. It has a high probability of occurrence among patients with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy.

Some of the symptoms of scoliosis-

Humping appearance in the back while bending.
Unequal shoulder height.
The imbalanced proportion between legs and torso.
The sideways posture of the rear or waist.

Generally, scoliosis cases are mild, but in some cases, the magnitude of the curvature increases with age among children. The severity of scoliosis can even cause disability and inhibit the proper functioning of the lungs as it might contract the space in the chest, hence requiring consistent monitoring to check the worsening of the curve. A brace can help stop the curve from intensifying in mild cases, whereas severe cases might require spine surgery to rectify the spinal structure.

UHS is a JCI accredited hospital offering distinguished spine surgery services amidst sophisticated and patient-friendly amenities. The Spine surgery specialty at UHS is vested with erudite spine surgeons that are experts at some of the most innovative spine surgery practices. Our goal is to help patients swiftly alleviate their spine-related ailments with minimal pain.

Lumbar endoscopic laminectomy is a minimally invasive surgery that helps decompress the spinal canal in the lower spine area. In contrast to the open or microscopic lumbar laminectomy, it is a modern procedure that involves making small incisions (less than 1cm) and decompress spinal canal and extracting the damaged part of the disc. It reduces the pressure built on the spinal cord. There is no removal of any bone or muscle during the procedure, unlike open or microscopic surgery.

Lumbar endoscopic laminectomy is feasible for patients with the following symptoms:

Pain in legs for over six weeks.
A visible herniated disc in the MRI scan.
Sciatica pain.
The ineffectiveness of non-surgical treatments like steroids, Non- Steroid Anti-inflammatory drugs and physiotherapy.

Spinal fusion surgery helps connect multiple vertebrae into a single structure. Its objective is to halt movement between the bones to stop back pain. Spinal fusion assists in joining two or more vertebrae into a single structure to prevent pain caused by mobility. The infused vertebrae inhibit the patient from stretching the adjacent nerves, muscles and ligaments, preventing discomfort. The professional and learned team of doctors at the UHS spine surgery department examine the patient and only prescribe fusion surgery after ruling out all non-surgical treatments. Spinal fusion can help relieve back pain in case of:

Degenerative disk disease
Fracture in the spinal cord
Scoliosis
Narrowing of the spinal canal- Spinal stenosis
Infection or tumours in the spine
Spondylolisthesis

Lumbar discectomy is not fit for all treatment for all backpain issues or the condition of a herniated disc. Our doctors conduct an exhaustive examination of patients and advise the surgery only if required. UHS spine team use only 1 cm hole for fusion surgery, it preserves skin and muscle, can return to normal life within a week cosmetically superior than microscopic or open surgery.

It is a revolutionary spine surgery method to treat herniated lumbar disk by decompressing the lumbar disc space to remove the nucleus pulposus using a posterolateral approach. PELD is the minimally invasive spine surgery technique implemented to ablate the herniated part of the lumbar disc. It is advisable for patients with a non-sequestrated lumbar disk hernia with an intact dorsal longitudinal ligament. This technique preserves 100% posterior back muscle only use small hole on the flank.

The procedure of PELD requires local anesthesia. Considering its sophisticated nature, it holds an edge over other surgical techniques such as:

Minimal paraspinal muscle trauma.
No damage to the facet joint.
The small surgical wound reduces post-surgery complications.
Patients are allowed to go home much sooner than other spine surgery procedures.

Also known as lumbar disk replacement surgery, artificial disc replacement surgery involves replacing a damaged or degenerated disk in the lower area of the spine with an artificial disk. The disk could be composed of metal or both plastic and metal.

The primary reason for conducting an artificial disk replacement surgery is to remedy backache. Our skilled and experienced team of doctors conduct some tests on the causes of back pain to determine whether Artificial Disk Replacement is the suitable treatment for you. Listed below are some of the conditions that make lumbar disk replacement surgery a feasible option-

Either 1 or 2 disks in the lower spine area are the source of pain.
Absence of any joint disease or compression of the spinal nerves.
The patient is not obese.
No history of spinal surgery.
The patient must not suffer from spinal deformities like scoliosis.

Artificial disk replacement involves making an incision in the abdomen. The surgeons move the organs and blood vessels to access the spine and execute the procedure. It is major surgery and requires a hospital stay post-surgery.

Also known as Cervical Disk Arthroplasty, it is a replacement surgery to help patients suffering from cervical disk disease alleviate pain and facilitate mobility. Discs tend to become weak with age. They crack up in the outer portion, resulting in degenerative disk disease. It is a painful condition caused by pressure built by the bulging of the inner portion against the outer area.

The surgeon makes a small cut in front of the neck to expose the spine and then removes the worn-out disc and implants the artificial disc.

The procedure helps maintain the motility of the spine and neck.
It inhibits the development of degenerative disc disease among the adjoining segments.
It inhibits complications and concerns related to the requirement for bone grafting and spinal instrumentation involved in spinal fusion.

Spine Surgery