It was a model of the lower lumbar section of the spine with four spaces consisting of flexible tubing and nylon cord on each side of the fifth and fourth lumbar vertebrae. They were held in place by two-inch screws.

“It was scary and interesting at the same time,” said Marlow, of Shreveport, in her fifth week of recovery after surgery to implant the device designed to offer more natural mobility for patients needing spinal fusion.

“I have no back pain at all,” she said. “The only pain I have right now is nerve and muscle pain, and that should eventually get better.”

About 80 percent of Americans will at some point suffer with back pain; said Mody of The Orthopedic Clinic in Shreveport, who performed the procedure to implant the Dynesys dynamic stabilization system in Marlow.

“Most, about 85 percent, will get better without surgery,” he said. “But done for the right reasons and after trying everything else, surgery can be the right answer. But Dynesys won’t be for everybody. Some people will still need spinal fusion.”

The device is an option for patients needing spinal fusion due degenerative slipped disc in the thoracic, lumbar or sacral regions. It offers a more natural function of the spine compared to the traditionally rigid metal rods used in spinal fusion.

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