Spine care at The Medical Center of Aurora

Spine doctors in Aurora, Colorado

Orthopedic spine injuries and disorders require the care of highly trained specialists. At The Medical Center of Aurora, our spine doctors deliver that level of expert care for neck, back and spine conditions—from diagnosis through recovery. Additionally, if you need spine surgery, our hospital provides advanced surgical technology, a preoperative spine surgery class and rehabilitation after surgery. Our goal is to provide you with the comprehensive care you need to restore you spine's health and your quality of life.

For more information about spine care at The Medical Center of Aurora, please call (303) 873-0630.

Spine conditions we treat

Our collaborative, team-based approach to spine care offers the expertise of physicians in orthopedic care, neurological care, nursing and rehabilitation.

Our team treats a wide variety of conditions affecting the neck, back and spine, including:

• Back pain
• Back strain or sprain
• Bone spurs
• Burst fracture
• Compression fracture
• Degenerative disc disease
• Herniated disc
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Sciatica
• Scoliosis
• Spinal fracture
• Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
• Spinal tumor
• Spinal cyst
• Spondylolisthesis (lower back vertebrae slips out of place)
• Tethered spinal cord syndrome (abnormally stretched spinal cord tissue)
• Whiplash

Neck pain

Acute neck pain can be brought on by traumatic and sports-related injuries. These types of injuries should be immediately immobilized and seen by a doctor.

If your neck pain is ongoing for several weeks or becomes worse (radiating down your arms or legs or accompanied by headaches), you should be seen by our orthopedic neck specialists. They offer treatment for neck arthritis, cervical spine deformities, neck fractures and other neck conditions.

Spinal cord injury

Many spinal cord injuries are caused by a sudden, traumatic injury to the spine that breaks or dislocates the vertebrae. The bone fragments can tear or damage the spinal cord tissue. In other cases, the spinal cord may cut by trauma, such as a gunshot or knife wound. Bleeding and swelling following the initial injury can cause additional spinal cord damage.

These complexities mean spinal cord injuries require specialized care. They should be treated by a multidisciplinary team of orthopedists and neurosurgeons, such as the team at The Medical Center of Aurora. They ensure proper evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation of spinal cord injuries.

Diagnosing spine conditions

To diagnose back, spine and neck conditions, our spine care specialists may use a variety of imaging tests, such as:

• Computerized tomography (CT) scan
• Discogram
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Myelogram
• X-ray

Spine surgery

Our spine care specialists will work with you to determine the most effective treatment based on your diagnosis. Some of our procedures include:

• Cervical disk replacement
• Cervical foraminotomy (surgery to relieve pinched spinal nerve symptoms)
• Laser spine surgery
• Laminotomy (surgery to relieve pressure in the vertebral canal)
• Lumbar disk replacement
• Sacroiliac (SI) joint fusion
• Spinal fusion
• Tethered cord release

Additionally, our spine care specialists pioneered a minimally invasive spinal fusion technique, which has since been implemented across all spine care programs in our family of hospitals.

Minimally invasive spinal fusion

Extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) is a minimally invasive spinal fusion procedure. Instead of making an incision in the back muscles, XLIF involves a small incision on the patient’s side. This achieves the same surgical goals as an open spine surgery but with smaller incisions and greater tissue preservation. Special equipment is used to monitor how close the surgeon’s tools are to the spinal nerves.

To be eligible for XLIF, the vertebrae must be easily reached from the side of the body.

Preoperative spine surgery education

We believe you will experience better surgical outcomes when you know what to expect with your surgery and recovery. For this reason, we provide preoperative education before your have spine surgery.

Our free spine surgery class covers topics such as:

• Anatomy of the spine
• Equipment needs
• Home safety
• Discharge needs
• Pain management
• Postoperative nursing care
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Precautions and limitations after spine surgery

We recommend taking the spine surgery class at least two weeks before your surgery. Family and/or caregivers who will be involved in your care after surgery are welcome to join you.

Register for spine surgery class

Spinal cord rehabilitation

Rehabilitation after spine surgery helps you recover quickly and safely. That is why we provide physical therapy and rehabilitation while you are still in the hospital, to help you begin your recovery.

We also partner with Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital, an acute rehabilitation center specialized in neurological rehabilitation. If you need additional rehabilitation after spine surgery, this partnership allows for a smooth transition from our hospital to an inpatient rehab center.

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