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What Is AxiaLIF Back Surgery?

The AxiaLIF procedure is a minimally invasive surgery that fuses lower back lumbar region bones to relieve chronic back pain. The term AxiaLIF® stands for Axial Lumbar Interbody Fusion, System, and the procedure was developed by surgeons at Hackensack University Medical Center.

  1. What AxiaLIF Does

    • The AxiaLIF method is for chronic back pain sufferers who have tried other procedures like physical therapy and pain management and were not successful with those and other non-surgical type treatments. The surgeon will access the diseased lower back discs through a one-inch incision near your tailbone. The surgeon then removes the diseased disc or discs and replace them with “bone growth material” that will fuse with the surrounding bones.

    Why AxiaLIF Works

    • The AxiaLIF implant replaces the diseased discs and immediately restores the lower back region of discs to their healthy state. Long-term patients who have complained of chronic lower back pain who had the AxiaLIF surgery have said they’ve had “immediate relief… they could go on a one mile walk just a few days after the procedure was done… that their life was given back to them.”

    How Long is the Recovery?

    • Patients who have normal lumbar fusion surgeries tend to stay in the hospital up to five days and then have a long recovery, not being able to return to work or normal activity for up to two months. Patients who have the AxiaLIF surgery go home after one night in the hospital. Some AxiaLIF patients are sent home as outpatients. Recovery from the surgery is minimal, and life can go back to normal much quicker after the AxiaLIF.

    Are There Any Side Effects or Warnings?

    • According to a Clinical Information website, risks to the patients who had AxiaLIF are “similar to those for patients undergoing any spine stabilization surgery. The most frequently stated risks are bleeding (including occult during and after surgery), neurological damage, damage to soft tissue, spinal cord impingement or damage, infection, loss of bowel or bladder function, loss of erectile or ejaculatory function, meningitis or pain.”

    Who Can Have AxiaLIF?

    • Patients with vertebral fractures, slipped vertebrae or disc-related injuries are ideal the candidates for AxiaLIF surgery.

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