Back surgery (spinal surgery) at Spire Portsmouth Hospital

Here at Spire Portsmouth Hospital we pride ourselves on providing high-quality back surgery treatment in our clean, modern facilities.

Throughout your treatment and recovery, you’ll be offered a service that’s tailored to your needs and aimed at making you feel better faster. You’ll receive aftercare and support from our dedicated nurses and physiotherapists to help you make the best possible recovery.

At Spire Portsmouth Hospital, we have a number of highly experienced consultants who offer treatment for a variety of conditions. Common back surgery procedures are:

• Discectomy – where part of a slipped disc is removed to relieve associated symptoms
• Laminectomy – where part of a vertebra is removed to relieve pressure on the spinal cord
• Spinal fusion – used to strengthen your back

We’re able to offer surgical techniques and innovations that have been designed to improve outcomes. This includes synthetic bone substitutes for spinal fusion so there’s no need to remove and use bone from elsewhere in your body.

We’re proud of our world-class clinical facilities at Spire Portsmouth Hospital, such as three operating theatres with laminar flow. These theatres regulate air flow, thereby reducing the likelihood of infection.

Getting here

Spire Portsmouth Hospital is situated just off the B2148, two miles from Havant town centre and station. The hospital is 10 miles from Chichester and Portsmouth. We have free on-site parking 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

Your appointments will take place in one of our 15 consultation rooms which are all accessible making things easier for you if you have difficulty walking. These consultations 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 and your physiotherapist will explain your recovery plan.

During your time with us you’ll stay in one of our 49 large, bright, private rooms. We expect you to be here for between one and four days, dependent on what type of procedure you undergo.

For your own comfort and that of your visitors we have a restaurant which they can use while you're undergoing your operation.

For your procedure you’ll be given a general anaesthetic, so you’ll be asleep for the operation.

Following your surgery, you’ll begin your recovery in one of our private rooms, all of which contain:

• TV with Freeview
• Window
• Armchair
• Wardrobe

You may feel discomfort following your procedure, but your nursing team will make sure you have pain relief medication to help manage this. They’ll also be able to advise you on over-the-counter pain relief you can use while at home.

Physiotherapy also plays an important role in your recovery so we have a dedicated physiotherapy team who can provide you with tailored exercises to help you get the most from your operation.

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