Back surgery (spinal surgery) at Spire Cheshire Hospital

At Spire Cheshire Hospital, our orthopaedic (bone and muscle) consultants and neurosurgeons have wide experience in performing back surgery in our clean and modern facilities. They’ll offer you a treatment and recovery plan that’s personalised to you, to relieve your symptoms and help you get back to your everyday activities. Our dedicated nurses and physiotherapists will provide you with expert aftercare to help you get the most from your operation.

At Spire Cheshire Hospital, our consultants are highly skilled at performing back surgery for a variety of conditions. Your consultant will be able to recommend the best type of surgery for your needs. This may include one or more of the following:

• Discectomy – to remove part of a slipped disc and relieve associated symptoms
• Disc replacement – replacement of the degenerated disc
• Laminectomy – to remove part of a vertebra to relieve pressure on the spinal cord
• Spinal fusion – to strengthen your back
• Epidural injections – for pain relief

We’re able to offer surgical techniques and innovations that have been designed to improve outcomes. These include:

• Minimally invasive discectomy, which uses smaller incisions than traditional techniques, resulting in faster recovery
• Interspinous distraction can be used for lumbar spinal stenosis, where a device is implanted between two vertebrae to relieve a trapped or compressed nerve
• Synthetic bone substitutes for spinal fusion so there’s no need to remove and use bone from elsewhere in your body

At Spire Cheshire Hospital, we have high-quality facilities, including two operating theatres with laminar flow. These theatres regulate air flow to reduce the risk of infection.

Getting here

Spire Cheshire Hospital is located just off junction 10 of the M56 on the A49 to Warrington. Public transport options are available. We have free parking on-site for you and your visitors.

Your consultations

During your consultations, you’ll meet one of our expert consultants who’ll:

• Discuss your medical history
• Recommend tests and scans if required, such as an X-ray, an MRI or a CT scan, so they can look at your back in more detail
• Discuss which type of surgery you’ll need for your condition and what it’ll involve
• Explain about the general anaesthetic and how it may affect you

All of your consultations will take place in one of our 15 consultation rooms which are all accessible – making things easier for you if you have difficulty walking. They give you an opportunity to ask questions and get advice about what’s best for you. Once you’ve decided to go ahead with back surgery, your consultant will help you prepare and explain your recovery plan.

When you come in for your operation, you’ll be with us for one to four days. You’ll stay in one of our 39 large, bright, private en-suite rooms.

If you’ve come with a friend or family member, they’re welcome to wait in our reception area while you have your surgery.

Here’s what will happen on the day of your back surgery:

• You’ll meet your surgery team and anaesthetist
• Your anaesthetist will administer the general anaesthetic, which will send you to sleep for the operation
• Once it’s taken effect, your surgeon will make the first incision and carry out the type of back surgery that you’re having

You’ll start your recovery in your own private room. All of our rooms have:

• TV
• Armchair
• Locker and wardrobe
• En-suite
• Internet access
• Adjustable table

After surgery, you’ll probably feel some pain or discomfort – this is normal after surgery. Our nursing team will give you painkillers to help you with this and may provide medications to prevent infection and reduce the risk of clotting.

One of our physiotherapists will help get you moving again and provide you with some exercises you can do throughout your recovery to help you get the best possible outcome.

Although everybody’s different and you should always follow your consultant’s advice, here’s a typical recovery timeline for back surgery: