Anil Kesani

When to Consider Invasive Options for Degenerative Disc Pain

Anil Kumar Kesani, MD, is a board-certified spinal surgeon specializing in the treatment of all types of spine problems, including back pain, neck pain, and degenerative disc pain. As a fellowship-trained spine doctor, Dr. Anil Kesani continually expands his training and knowledge to include leading-edge technologies and options for the treatment of spinal problems.

Degenerative disc pain can be a crippling condition, and when nonsurgical treatments fail, invasive options may be the only ones left. Typically, you should try to resolve the pain through physical therapy, lifestyle changes, and other methods. But, if diagnostic studies identify nerve impingement, it’s likely that those methods will be of limited help.

Also, if you experience progressive numbness, tingling, or weakness, it may get bad enough that you can’t even resort to options like physical therapy. Loss of bowel or bladder control is also a sign that you should consider a more serious treatment option.

Ultimately, your goal should be to eliminate pain and preserve the health of the spine’s vertebrae and nerves. If the pain significantly interferes with your quality of life, and you’ve tried a variety of nonsurgical options for 6 to 12 weeks, speak to your doctor about other potential solutions.

For more information about surgical and nonsurgical treatment of spine-related pain, visit www.anilkesanimd.com.

Spinal Injections Offer Surgical Alternative for Pain Treatment

After graduating from University College London with his medical doctor, Anil Kumar Kesani, MD, completed a combined orthopedic and neurosurgery spine fellowship at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Today, Dr. Anil Kesani treats spinal conditions from his SpineMD clinic in North Richland Hills, Texas. Dr. Kesani specializes in both surgical and nonsurgical treatments of the spine, including spinal injections.

Used for a wide array of conditions, spinal injections provide an alternative to surgery for those suffering from severe pain in the neck or back, as well as treatment for pinched nerves that cause radiating pain in the arms or legs. Doctors may also use injections to diagnose the cause or location of a patient’s condition when it comes to issues such as disc herniation or bulges. Injections to specific locations in the spine can allow surgeons to perform less invasive procedures to treat those conditions.

Three examples of spinal injections include epidural, facet joint, and selective nerve root blocks. An epidural injection pierces the epidural area, which is a collection of fat between the bone and the spine’s protective sac. A facet joint injection, on the other hand, delivers pain medication to the facet joints in the spine. While in selective nerve root block a physician injects local anesthetic to a single suspected nerve root to confirm whether it is the cause of a majority of the patient’s pain allowing more accurate and smaller surgery to be performed down the line..

On a similar theme while using a needle, in rhizotomies instead of injecting medicine, a physician applies radiofrequency energy to heat up pain causing small pain nerves to destroy them and abate pain. Please visit Dr. Anil Kesani’s website http://www.drkesani.com for further information.

Advantages of Disc Replacement Surgery

An orthopedic and spine surgeon at SpineMD, Dr. Anil Kesani earned his MD from Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine. His video on causes, diagnosis, and treatment options for neck pain is available at youtube.com/watch?v=yWR47cScyE0. Dr. Anil Kumar Kesani has successfully carried out motion-preserving spine surgery procedures such as stem cell treatment and disc replacement.

Motion preservation spine surgery (MPSS) is an approach that treats degenerative spinal disc disorders without involving spinal fusion. Used to treat conditions such as spinal disc degeneration, spinal fusion restricts movement in the spine by fusing two or more vertebrae. This can alleviate pain caused by such movement.

MPSS takes less time compared to traditional open spinal surgeries and allows for faster recovery. It offers patients options other than spinal fusion, such as disc replacement surgery. Similar to standard hip or knee replacement, disc replacement surgery treats patients with a seriously damaged (degenerated) disc by replacing the defective disc with an artificial one. The artificial disc restores flexibility and movement to the affected area by mimicking a healthy disc.

Cervical Myelopathy – Symptoms and Causes

A fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Anil Kumar Kesani, MD, is an orthopedic and spine surgeon at SpineMD, which has information online at myspinemd.com. Dr. Anil Kesani is experienced in treating a wide variety of disorders, including spinal tumors, cervical myelopathy, and cauda equina syndrome.

A form of myelopathy, which is a term for disorders that affect the spinal cord, cervical myelopathy is characterized by compression of the spinal cord in the neck region. Generally, cervical myelopathy exhibits two types of symptoms, which include neck symptoms, and other symptoms that develop as the disorder affects other parts leading away from the spinal cord. Neck symptoms include stiffness, neck pain, and reduced flexibility. Other symptoms include poor coordination of hands, loss of balance, tingling or numbness in the arms and hands, and hand and arm weakness.

Cervical myelopathy is often caused by progressive narrowing of the vertebral spinal canal in the neck region. People born with a narrow spinal canal are likely to develop cervical myelopathy quickly if the narrowing continues. Some other disorders, such as spinal tumors, arthritis of the neck, and spinal infection, may also result in cervical myelopathy. It is often treated with spinal decompression surgery, which helps reduce pressure on the compressed spinal nerves in the affected area.

Symptoms and Causes of Sacroiliitis

SpineMD founder and orthopedic spine surgeon Anil Kumar Kesani, MD, performs minimally-invasive and nonsurgical treatments to relieve pain symptoms caused by spinal conditions. Dr. Anil Kesani counsels patients managing chronic issues such as sacroiliitis.

Sacroiliitis is a common cause of ongoing lower back pain. In this condition, the joints that connect the sacrum to the pelvis become inflamed. As a result, individuals may feel pain from their lower back down to the back of their legs. This is often aggravated by sitting for long periods of time or certain actions such as running or going up stairs. Some people may also experience fevers or lower body stiffness if associated with autoimmune or infectious conditions.

Chronic illnesses that impact the joints, such as arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, a condition that affects the lower body specifically, are the major causes of sacroiliitis. However, some conditions, such as pregnancy or severe trauma from a car accident or fall, can also damage the sacroiliac joints. In very rare cases, the joints can become infected with a strain of staph bacteria.

Three Types of Spinal Injections

3D render of a skeleton with spine highlighted showing pain

Prior to founding the Texas orthopedic clinic SpineMD, Anil Kumar Kesani, MD, spent several years as a spine surgeon caring for patients in Illinois. Dr. Anil Kesani also shares his expertise through his YouTube channel. In his video discussing back pain, he mentions the use of spinal injections in the treatment process.

Spinal injections have both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. They are often used in combination with other therapies including physical therapy and strengthening exercises. Three commonly used injections include:

Selective nerve root injection: The spinal cord sends 62 nerve roots through the 31 vertebrae. When these nerves become damaged or compressed, it can cause numbness and pain in the legs or arms. Injections near the nerve root can help determine which nerve root pair is causing the problem.

Epidural injection: These injections are administered to numb pain that originates from a pinched spinal nerve and radiates to the upper or lower limbs. Epidural injections channel medicine such as steroids and local injections into the epidural space that is adjacent to the nerve causing the pain and thereby reduces the pain..

Provocation discography: This diagnostic procedure is usually performed as a precursor to spinal surgery in particular spinal fusion for discogenic neck pain or discogenic back pain. During a discography, fluid is injected into the center of the intervertebral discs that separate each vertebra. Since the liquid creates pressure, it can help localize the source of spinal pain.

Stem Cell Spinal Treatments FAQ

Dr. Anil Kumar Kesani is a spinal surgeon working at SpineMD in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. For several years, Dr. Anil Kesani has been specializing in minimally invasive treatments for spine conditions, including disc replacement, spinal injections, and stem cell therapy.

Here are a few common questions about stem cell therapy and how it is used in the treatment of spinal problems:

Question: What stem cells are used in the treatment of spinal problems?

Answer: Stem cells can have numerous sources. One of the primary sources for the treatment of spinal problems is human umbilical cord tissue. These are classified as allogeneic mesenchymal cells.

Q: What are the advantages of treating spinal cord injuries with stem cells?

A: If effective, stem cell therapy is far less invasive than surgical procedures and provides virtually no patient downtime.

Q: Can stem cells heal spinal cord injuries?

A: The research into stem cells is ongoing. However, many case studies exist, and a growing body of research suggests their effectiveness in combination with other rehabilitative therapies.

For more information about nonoperative treatments, visit Dr. Kesani’s YouTube site at www.youtube.com/channel/UCIwNUZjPZ1WKTHiPCO_bGiQ.

Crucial Tools in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the plane of the spine. The hand indicates a problem area.

Dr. Anil Kumar Kesani is a John Scales Prize-winning orthopedic surgeon affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area of North Richland Hills, Texas. As a surgeon working with SpineMD, Dr. Anil Kesani specializes in minimally invasive and motion-preserving interventions.

Minimally invasive spinal surgery is superior to traditional surgery in terms of post-operative pain and recovery. Tubular retractors are small instruments that gently move muscle tissue instead of cutting through it to allow the surgeon to access the spine. Surgical instruments can be inserted through the retractors to execute various spinal procedures.

Fluoroscopy, otherwise known as live X-ray imaging, is an essential part of minimally invasive spinal surgery. A fluoroscopic X-ray device provides images that help the surgeon see the procedure without the need for a large incision.

Not every procedure can be performed with minimally invasive techniques. For more information about nonoperative treatments, including physical therapy and injections, visit Dr. Kesani’s YouTube site at www.youtube.com/channel/UCIwNUZjPZ1WKTHiPCO_bGiQ.

Causes of Back Pain – Dr. Anil Kesani

An orthopedic surgeon based in North Richland Hills, Texas, Dr. Anil Kumar Kesani, MD, specializes in minimally invasive spinal surgery and motion-preserving interventions such as disc replacement to spinal problems. Dr. Anil Kesani makes an effort to inform all his patients about everything related to their treatments, including potential causes of their back pain.

Back pain can be caused by a host of issues, the most common of which is muscle and ligaments becoming strained. This type of back pain is usually treated with medications on a case-by-case basis.

Structural problems such as injuries and fractures are another cause. Skeletal irregularities can be more difficult to treat, and sometimes require surgery to correct. However, many successful treatments exist for these conditions as well.

Other problems that can cause back pain include inflammatory conditions, tumors, and degenerative changes in the spine. To find out more about these conditions, please refer to Dr. Kesani’s YouTube video on the topic.

The Purpose of a Lumbar Laminectomy

Dr. Anil Kumar Kesani specializes in minimally invasive surgical treatments for spinal conditions. Fellowship trained in spine surgery and certified by the Board of Orthopedic Surgery, Anil Kumar Kesani, MD, is well-versed in numerous interventions, including lumbar laminectomies.

A laminectomy, also known as decompression surgery, involves removing the back part of a vertebra or lamina to relieve pressure on the spinal cord and or spinal nerves. This pressure is commonly caused by disc herniation, bone growth within the spinal canal as well as instability or spondylolisthesis. It often occurs in people who have arthritis of the spine, and it can be extremely painful.

Medication, physical therapy, and injections are usually attempted to provide relief before surgery is recommended. If the symptoms don’t improve or they continue to worsen, surgery may become the only option.

The pressure on the spinal nerves or spinal cord can become severe enough to cause difficulty walking and even loss of bowel control. For more information on this and other surgical spine interventions, please visit Dr. Kesani’s website. www.myspinemd.com