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Safer, Less Painful Spine Surgery Available
Date: Tuesday, August 20, 2002
A new procedure is making spine fusion surgery safer and less painful for patients. Dr. Michael R. Moore, an orthopaedic surgeon with the Bone & Joint Center, Bismarck, began performing spine fusion surgery using Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) this month, just weeks after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved its use.
Surgeons must train in the new procedure before performing the surgery. Dr. Moore, who was the first doctor in North Dakota to perform the new procedure, completed training earlier this year in anticipation of FDA approval. The first BMP surgery in North Dakota was performed at St. Alexius Medical Center.
Spine fusion surgery is an option for people who have degenerative spinal disk disease or other debilitating lower back problems. Candidates for the surgery generally range in age from 40 to 60 years old. The surgery involves fusing two or more vertebrae together. Until now, the patient’s own bone pieces were usually used to prompt new bone growth.
BMP can now be used during surgery to give a biological signal to the body to begin growing bone that helps fuse the vertebrae together. The new method eliminates the need for a second incision to harvest the bone, making the procedure less painful and reducing blood loss and the risk of complications.
Dr. Moore graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of all types of spinal disorders, as well as tumors and congenital abnormalities of the spine. Dr. Moore is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Board of Spine Surgery. He has lectured extensively on the topic of spine surgery across the United States and Europe.
For more information about BMP spinal surgery, visit www.back.com.
To make an appointment with Dr. Moore at the Bone & Joint Center, call 701-530-8650 or 1-800-424-2663.
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