Back surgery (spinal surgery) at Spire Sussex Hospital

Here at Spire Sussex 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 Sussex, 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. This includes synthetic bone substitutes for spinal fusion so there’s no need to remove and use bone from elsewhere in your body.

At Spire Sussex, we have high-quality facilities, including two operating theatres with laminar flow. These theatres regulate air flow to reduce the risk of infection.

How to find us

We’re situated near Hastings, the nearest railway stations are Hastings Town and Battle, both approximately three miles away, or 10 minutes by car. We have free on-site parking available for you and your visitors.

Your consultations

As a first step, you’ll have an appointment with one of our experienced consultants. This will be in one of our six accessible consultation rooms so there’s no need to worry if you have mobility difficulties. This provides you with an opportunity to talk openly about your condition and the procedure with your consultant. During the appointment, your consultant will:

• 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

On the day of your procedure, you’ll meet your healthcare team, including your anaesthetist and your consultant again. You’ll be shown to one of our 22 large, bright, private rooms. You’ll be with us for one to four days, depending on the type of surgery you have.

Before surgery, you’ll be given a general anaesthetic, so you’ll be unconscious throughout the procedure. Once it’s taken effect, your consultant will begin your surgery.

You’ll start your recovery 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: