A member of the North American Spine Society, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb currently works as a spine surgeon at Orthopedic Specialists of North Texas. In his work with the Denton, TX, practice, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb draws on over a decade of experience in the surgical treatment of various spine diseases and injuries. He is proficient in innovative surgical techniques, including lateral lumbar interbody fusion, a recently developed, minimally invasive technique to fuse bones in the lower back region of the spine.
Lateral interbody fusion involves a tiny incision at the side of the patient's waist. Through the incision, a defective disc is removed from the spine and replaced by a bone graft, called a spacer graft, to facilitate fusion while restoring the height between two vertebrae.
Used when conservative techniques have failed to result in improvement, this procedure efficiently treats lower back and leg pain that results from a degenerative disc or abnormal forward flip of a vertebra, known as spondylolisthesis. It also can help correct mild sideways curvature of the spine, known as scoliosis.
Benefits of lateral interbody fusion, as compared to traditional lumbar fusion procedures, include less blood loss and scarring, shorter duration of surgery, decreased post-operative pain, and faster recovery. Patients often are able to walk the same day they had the surgery, and may only be required to spend a single night at the hospital.
