Spine

The Yale Spine Center at Bridgeport Hospital specializes in personalized care aimed at improving a patient’s condition and quality of life with the most advanced and least invasive treatment. We specialize in minimally invasive surgery to treat spinal disorders.

Our dedicated multidisciplinary team delivers exceptional clinical care in a compassionate and supportive environment. This team includes specially trained neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, physiatrists, nurses, pain specialists, physical therapists, physician assistants, nursing assistants, rehabilitation specialists, case managers and nurse coordinators.

With an emphasis on patient-centered care, each Yale Spine Center patient is carefully evaluated to determine optimal treatment which may include, when necessary, surgical intervention. Toward achieving best patient outcomes for patients who will be having surgery we provide a preoperative patient education program and coordinate discharge arrangements, home care and rehabilitation services.

Spine Conditions We Treat

Conditions treated by the Yale Spine Center team include:

• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Back and neck pain
• Cervical and thoracic spinal cord compression (pressure)
• Degenerative back, neck conditions (arthritis)
• Herniated disc
• Myelopathy (spinal cord dysfunction)
• Sciatica (radiating leg pain)
• Scoliosis (curve of the spine)
• Spinal deformities and fractures
• Spine tumors
• Spondyloarthritis (inflammatory arthritis)
• Spondylosis (degeneration of the spine, e.g., arthritis)
• Spondylolisthesis (spinal instability)
• Spinal stenosis (spinal canal narrowing)
• Syrinx (fluid collection in the spinal cord)

Spine Surgery

The Yale Spine Center at Bridgeport Hospital offers comprehensive surgical treatment options including:

• Cervical, thoracic, lumbar surgery
• Decompression (removing compression of neural structures)
• Discectomy (removal of herniated discs)
• Fusion (stabilization of vertebrae)
• Scoliosis surgery to treat curvature of the spine
• Tumor surgery to remove and/or stabilize the spine around a tumor
• Vertebroplasty/kyphoplasty procedures to treat compression fractures or tumors

Minimally Invasive Spinal Fusion

Spinal fusion surgery is an option for patients who no longer get relief from other treatments, and are experiencing chronic pain or impairment due to spinal instability, unstable fractures, and deformities of the spine or spondylolisthesis.

Spine surgeons at Bridgeport Hospital are specialists at performing minimally invasive spinal fusion through smaller incisions using advanced imaging guidance. This minimally invasive approach offers significant advantages to patients -- minimal blood loss, less pain and a faster return to normal activity.

Nonsurgical Spine Treatment

The right diagnosis is crucial to determining an optimal treatment plan, and every patient is carefully evaluated. Depending on a patient’s spine condition, symptoms such as pain, weakness, and numbness may be successfully alleviated with nonsurgical treatments, such as rest, activity modifications, anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy and home-based exercise. 

Nonsurgical therapeutic injections offered by our interventional physiatrists and pain specialists to treat inflammatory conditions in the spine include:

• Cortisone (steroid) injections to relieve inflammation
• Anti-inflammatory injections into the spine

Advanced Technology

Advanced imaging technology incorporated within our spine services includes:

• StealthStation™ neuro-navigation system – Allows our surgeons to operate more precisely and with smaller incisions by mapping a patient’s anatomy. It may be used for spinal fusion, lumbar fusion and corrective surgeries for conditions including scoliosis and herniated disc. With fewer and smaller incisions, healthy tissue is preserved and complications are reduced, thereby promoting quicker recovery than more invasive methods.
• O-arm™ imaging –  An advanced imaging system enables neurosurgeons performing spine surgery to view real-time 3-D images to support precise navigation around the spinal anatomy. This allows precise placement of screws during spinal fusions.