Back surgery (spinal surgery) at Spire London East Hospital

At Spire London East 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 London East 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. These include:

• Minimally invasive discectomy, which uses smaller incisions than traditional techniques, resulting in faster recovery
• Interspinous distraction can be used for lumbar spinal stenosis, where a device is implanted between two vertebrae to relieve a trapped or compressed nerve
• Synthetic bone substitutes are available which means your consultant doesn’t need to remove bone from elsewhere in your body to fuse your vertebrae

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

Getting here

We're located just a couple of miles from the M11 and only 20 minutes on the Central line tube to the city of London via Redbridge station. We have free on-site parking available for you and your visitors.

Your consultations

Your initial consultation will take place in one of our 20 accessible consultation rooms, so don’t worry if you have difficulty walking. During your consultations, we’ll:

• Ask about your medical history
• Say whether you need an X-ray, and/or an MRI or CT scan so your consultant can examine your back in more detail if you haven’t been diagnosed yet
• Tell you about the particular surgical method your consultant recommends and what it'll involve
• Explain about the general anaesthetic and how it may affect you
• Give you a chance to ask any questions you have about your surgery

During your time with us you’ll stay in one of our 42 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, at Spire London East, we have a waiting room 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.

You’ll start your recovery back in your private room, which has:

• TV
• Window
• Armchair
• WiFi

After your operation, 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: