Westport doctor says innovative technique can target chronic back pain

A Westport doctor says patients with chronic back pain need no longer worry now that a specific device exists.

News 12 Staff

Jul 29, 2021, 7:45 PM

Updated 1,231 days ago

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A Westport doctor says patients with chronic back pain need no longer worry now that a specific device exists.
News 12 is told people with severe back pain who need multiple surgeries can receive an implant to make it a "one-and-done" process.
Dr. Vijay Yanamadala of the Ayer Neuroscience Institute Spine Wellness Center in Westport is the first neurosurgeon to perform the special spine surgery. “He had already had a lumbar fusion surgery, he has osteoporosis,” says the doctor.
The surgery is only the second in the world. He says the idea is to insert an implant between the bones, allowing the disc to rest in the spine.
This technique is designed to help eliminate nerve pain and fuse the bones together.
"By designing an implant to specifically fit a patient's own bone, we can reduce the rates of fusion failure, the rates of graft subsidence…other problems that would necessitate future surgeries,” says Yanamadala. “All of this is really part of a goal of making this the last surgery a patient needs."
Officials say the small implants are made of titanium with a 3D printer, specifically designed for each patient.
"It looks like bone and that allows us to actually then facilitate bone growth through this cage so that the bone above and the bone below actually fuse together,” says Yanamadala.
The Westport doctor says the results have been successful, especially with one patient he’s personally worked with.
He hopes other will be willing to get the surgery in the future.