Spire Healthcare: Private spinal surgery in the UK

Spire Healthcare hospitals provide the highest standards of private healthcare at their 37 hospitals located throughout the UK. With over 25 years of experience, their highly trained clinical and support staff are dedicated to looking after you.

Spire Healthcare hospitals continually strive to improve the hospital experience and clinical outcome for patients, publishing annual clinical outcome measures including rates for MRSA infection, for unplanned readmissions to hospital and for unplanned returns to the operating theatre. You can check out key patient satisfaction measures at each Spire Healthcare hospital and find out how Spire Healthcare keep MRSA rates so low in its 37 hospitals.

They also measure overall health improvement following hip replacement surgery and other surgery for each Spire hospital, the results of which can be viewed by following the links at: www.spirehealthcare.com/Patient-Information/Our-Healthcare-Standards/.

Spire Healthcare hospitals are registered with the Care Quality Commission in England, the Care Commission in Scotland, and the Care Standards Inspectorate in Wales.

Low surgery wound infection rates

Spire Healthcare hospitals work very hard to keep surgical wounds clean:

• All their hospitals have a very high proportion of single rooms which is recognised to dramatically reduce infections spreading.
• All Spire Healthcare staff are trained in exceptional hand hygiene to minimise any risk of cross-infection.
• Spire Healthcare nurses have the right skills and experience to apply dressings to keep wounds clean.
• Spire Healthcare help patients to mobilise as soon as possible to speed recovery.
• Operating theatres with laminar air flow is used for all major orthopaedic operations. Laminar air flow is an air filter system that cleans the surrounding air during surgery.

Back pain treatment and surgery

Spinal or back surgery

Spinal surgery is usually performed to relieve pressure on one or more nerves. There are various different operations to relieve nerve compression. The exact operation that you will have depends on the cause of the pain. Back operations are performed under general anaesthesia, which means you will be asleep throughout the procedure and will feel no pain.

Some of the most common procedures are described below. Sometimes, more than one procedure is done during a single operation. Your surgeon will explain which is most suitable for you and the benefits and risks of having a back operation, together with any alternatives.

• Discectomy – the soft centre of the disc that is protruding and putting pressure on the spinal cord or nerve is removed.
• Nerve root or spinal decompression – any bone, disc tissue or other material putting pressure on the nerve root or spinal cord is removed.
• Spinal fusion – vertebrae are joined together, using bone taken from your hip, metal implants or a specially designed cage.

A physiotherapist will visit you after your spinal surgery and discuss exercises you can do in bed to help speed up your recovery. Before you go home, your physiotherapist will make sure that you can use the stairs and can sit comfortably for about 10 minutes.

Depending on the operation you have, you will usually need to stay in hospital for two to seven days.

Back surgery is commonly performed and generally safe.

Epidural injections for pain relief

“Epidural” refers to the space surrounding the outer protective covering of the spinal cord.

For some people, an injection into the epidural space can help to relieve back pain or sciatica (shooting pain from the back down one or both legs) at least in the short term. This period of pain relief may allow them to become more active.  Keeping active is crucial to recovery from chronic back pain.

The epidural injection for chronic back pain consists of a steroid, a local anaesthetic or a combination of the two. These drugs are put into the epidural space using a special needle. The position of the injection depends on which spinal nerves are responsible for the pain. This is usually in the lumbar region of the back (below the level of your lowest rib).

The procedure is routinely carried out as a day case, with no overnight stay.  The injection is usually given under a local anaesthetic. This means you will stay awake during the procedure, but you may be offered a sedative to help you relax.

Facet joint injections

The facet joints which link together the bones in your back help to stabilise the spine and control the degree of movement. With age, they are prone to injury and deterioration and are a common cause of lower back pain, especially the type that is worse while sitting and improved by walking.

An injection into a facet joint is given to treat the pain, inflammation and any restriction of movement caused by the deterioration. A steroid medicine (which reduces inflammation) or a combination of a steroid and a local anaesthetic is injected into the joint.

Facet joint injections are usually performed as an outpatient or day case procedure with sedation. The treatment usually only takes a few minutes and more than one joint can be injected during the same session. Some people have the injections done under general anaesthesia, which means that they are asleep during the procedure.

After a facet joint injection you may feel more pain and tenderness in the area during the first 24 hours as the anaesthesia wears off. Sometimes this lasts for a few days. You will be given painkillers to help with this.

It can take up to a week for the full benefits of the injection to be felt. The effects of a successful injection can last anything from a few weeks to several months. The benefits last longer than six months only in a minority of people. Repeat injections (usually up to a maximum of three) are possible.

To find out more about having spinal surgery in a Spire Healthcare hospital , please call your local Spire hospital – use the links below to find their number.

Where can I get treatment?

Self-pay treatment

You can choose to have one-off private treatment at a Spire Healthcare private hospital for most types of operations, procedures and tests. You’ll be seen quickly and receive your treatment at a convenient time.

As a self-pay patient, you don’t need private health insurance. Spire Healthcare will give you a single, all-inclusive fixed price for your treatment.

Benefits of one-off private treatment with Spire Healthcare

• Quality-assured medical and nursing care

• Treatment in a clean and comfortable private hospital

• Choice of appointment times

• Tour of the hospital before admission

• Continuous care from your consultant

• Pre-admission information about your procedure

• Written discharge guidance

• Private room with en-suite bath or shower, if you’re staying overnight

• Healthy vegetarian and snack options for all meals

• Use of a phone* ,TV and radio in your room

• Visitors at any time

• Free tea and coffee for your visitors

• Meals for visitors*

• Free parking for you and your visitors (subject to availability)
  

* You’ll need to pay extra for this

To request an information pack, a guide price for any one-off private treatment or to discuss your personal situation please call your local Spire Healthcare hospital or use our online enquiry form.

Contact details

Spire Healthcare - please call your local Spire Healthcare hospital

Email:       Online enquiry form 

Website:  www.spirehealthcare.com

Ratings and reviews on Spire Healthcare hospitals

Choosing a doctor, operation, or hospital, is a big decision; the more opinions a patient can gather, the more secure they feel with their ultimate choice.

The Private Healthcare UK “Ratings and Reviews” system allows patients to record their experiences of treatment and to read the opinions and comments of other patients..

• Read reviews about treatment at Spire Healthcare hospitals

• Write a review about treatment at Spire Healthcare hospitals

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