Interventional Spine Procedures in New Jersey
With locations in Paramus, Union, and West New York, New Jersey, Bergen Pain Management is home to Dr. Thomas Ragukonis, a board-certified NJ Top Doc who specializes in interventional spine procedures. He deploys his expertise in this subspecialty of neurology to provide relief to painful symptoms from cervical, lumbar, and thoracic conditions and enhance patients’ quality of life. Learn more about why Dr. Ragukonis is Northern New Jersey’s most trusted interventional pain management specialist.
Minimally Invasive Solutions To Chronic Back Pain
The spine transmits signals to the brain, which may process them as pain. Interventional spine medicine, therefore, can be applied to alter the function of the spinal cord’s nerves and how the brain processes their signals. Aside from effectively addressing many patients’ symptoms, interventional spine procedures are minimally invasive, meaning they need smaller incisions than traditional surgery, are less risky in terms of complications, and promote a faster recovery.
Interventional Spine Treatment Options
At Bergen Pain Management, Dr. Ragukonis delivers interventional pain management for patients with spinal conditions through any of the following procedures:
Cervical Endoscopic Surgery
This outpatient procedure takes just 20 to 30 minutes and is an option for patients that have no prior neck muscle damage, large incisions, or bone removal. It’s also used to circumvent long-term side effects in patients who have undergone a spinal fusion.
Discography
Also called a discogram, this procedure has diagnostic uses, helping to pinpoint the root cause of pain, and is also utilized to guide surgeons when providing surgical disc treatments.
Dorsal Root Ganglion Therapy
Dorsal root ganglions (DRGs) are found at the spine’s nerve roots in clusters that connect to the spinal cord, regulating sensory signals as they travel to the brain. This therapy targets DRGs to intersect pain signals and prevent the brain from reading them.
Endoscopic Laser Facet Rhizotomy
This procedure deadens affected spinal nerves under X-ray guidance to ease the effects of chronic neck and back pain. It’s performed with finesse to ensure success without damaging nearby soft tissue or muscles, which is a risk with traditional spine surgeries.
Epidural Lysis of Adhesions
Also called the Racz procedure or adhesiolysis, this procedure is intended for patients with scar tissue formation that has resulted in chronic neck or back pain. It aims to remove scar tissue that forms around nerve roots in the epidural space of the spine.
Epidural Steroid Injections
This treatment injects a concentrated dosage of a local anesthetic and corticosteroids to relieve discomfort from conditions such as spinal stenosis, herniated discs, and more. Bergen Pain Management offers three types of epidural steroid injections, including:
Facet Joint Injections
These injections can induce pain relief by targeting the small facet joints found at each spinal segment, which assist in guiding motion. The treatment injects a local anesthetic and/or steroidal medication to block pain signals.
Facet Joint Thermal Ablation
If facet joints develop bone spurs, spinal nerves may become compressed and result in chronic pain. This procedure deadens the local nerves affected and smoothes the facet joint with laser surgery to provide effective relief.
Intrathecal Pumps
Intrathecal pumps deliver medication directly to the destination of a pain signal and can assist in decreasing a patient’s need to take oral medications or undergo outpatient procedures.
Minimally Invasive Spine Fusion
To treat degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, and more, this procedure fuses separated vertebral segments to decrease the resulting joint pain by using a bone graft and promoting a natural response that will help the bone graft grow.
Nerve Blocks
Also called neural blockades, nerve blocks can be used as an interventional pain management treatment for a wide range of conditions. We offer the following types:
Radiofrequency Ablation
Known as RFA, this treatment is ideal for patients who are living with cervical and lumbar pain from arthritis. It is performed using live X-ray (fluoroscopy) technology to precisely target and place the injection and prevent further damage or injury.
Sacroiliac Joint Injections
These injections are used for diagnosing the root of your pain and provide effective pain relief for conditions such as sciatica or sacroiliac joint dysfunction.
Spinal Cord Stimulator
These devices can be inserted between a patient’s spinal cord and vertebrae and send electrical impulses through the leads planted throughout the spinal cord, giving the patient a pleasant feeling that blocks pain.