Spinal surgery

Seven out of ten of us will suffer from some sort of back pain or spinal problem at some stage in our life. It can be due to a number of reasons, ranging from fractures and infection to degenerative disc disease, curvature of the spine (scoliosis) and spinal tumours, and often leads to reduced movement.

Our Musculoskeletal Unit in the Northern Centre for Orthopaedics offers a specialist service for the diagnosis and pain management of spinal problems in both children and adults.

We’re one of very few units in the country with a dedicated service for children, with specially trained clinical staff, advanced paediatric facilities and a paediatric intensive care unit.

We are also one of the busiest centres in the UK for the advanced treatment of certain complex spinal deformities, such as scoliosis.

Staff you are likely to meet

The department involves eight spinal surgeons, specialist nurses and enhanced physiotherapists working as a multi-disciplinary team to support the diagnosis and surgical treatment of all types of spinal problems in adults and children.

They aim to treat your back pain as effectively as possible, whether through surgery or pain relief, providing spinal stability and improved movement and enabling you to get back to normal life as quickly as possible.

Wherever possible we use advanced, minimally invasive surgical techniques to minimise your discomfort and hasten your recovery.

Surgery isn’t always necessary or appropriate, however, and we also provide a number of non-surgical treatments, such as pain and inflammation relief, moist heat therapy, exercise and physiotherapy.

For emergency cases, specialist scanning equipment and operating theatres are available 24 hours a day.

We offer specialised complex spinal surgery and also provide a comprehensive spinal on-call emergency provision to the region.