Back surgery (spinal surgery) at Spire Gatwick Park Hospital

At Spire Gatwick Park Hospital, we have a choice of expert orthopaedic (bone and muscle) consultants and neurosurgeons who perform back surgery to help you return to your everyday activities as quickly as possible. They’ll provide you with a treatment and recovery plan that’s personalised to you and your needs. Our dedicated nurses and physiotherapists will provide expert aftercare to help you get the most from your operation.

At Spire Gatwick Park 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
• Laminectomy – to remove part of a vertebra to relieve pressure on the spinal cord
• Spinal fusion – to strengthen your back

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
• Endoscopic discectomy where the surgeon makes very small incisions and is able to remove a spinal disc without removing bones and soft tissues
• Synthetic bone substitutes for spinal fusion so there’s no need to remove and use bone from elsewhere in your body

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

Getting here

We're just a few miles from Gatwick Airport, the M25 and M23 motorways, central London and Victoria station are a 30 minute train ride away. 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 12 consulting rooms which are all accessible – making things easier for you if you have difficulty walking. You can ask your consultant 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 34 large, bright, private en-suite rooms, which has a locked space for your things and entertainment to keep you occupied as you start your recovery.

If you’ve come with a friend or family member, they’re welcome to wait in our lounge 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 begin your operation

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

• TV
• Window
• Armchair and footstool
• Bedside table
• Wardrobe
• Air-conditioning
• En-suite bathroom with walk in shower
• Lock safe

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: