Christopher Silveri MD

Christopher P. Silveri, M.D.FAAOS

Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon : Spine View Profile
  • Dr. Silveri, at Fair Oaks Hospital, performed the hospital's first robotic spine surgery

  • I would like to express my sincere appreciation for keeping me up and running. By - Martha Howar

  • After suffering back pain for over 50 years the pain it became unbearable. By - Bob Vandel

  • Dr Silveri performed the first case using the O-Arm 3-D Imaging at Fair Oaks Hospital. Exciting New Technology

  • Thanks for the GREAT WORK! Double Fusion Feb 4, 2003 MARATHON October 30, 2005 By - Tim Bergen

  • Ballroom Dancer Fully Recovers from Back Surgery,A Laminectomy and Three Vertebra Fusion By - Tom Woll

  • Thanks Dr. Silveri.

  • Washingtonian Top Doctor 2023

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Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Spinal fusion is a surgical technique used to join two or more vertebrae in the spine and to minimize the pain caused by movement of these vertebrae. Fusion of vertebrae in lumbar portion of the spine is called as lumbar fusion and the surgery can be done as an open or minimally invasive procedure.

Several techniques are practiced for minimally invasive surgery and they include

  • Anterior lumbar interbody fusion, ALIF – accessing the spine from the front
  • Posterior lumbar interbody fusion, PLIF – approaching the spine from the back
  • Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, TLIF – approaching from the side

In PLIF surgery, several 1-2 inch incisions are made on the back, a series of increasingly larger dilators are used to spread the muscles apart and to provide access to the spine.  The rods and screws are placed through the dilator tubes. In some cases, an operating microscope may be used to provide a better view.

During the surgery, a piece of bone harvested from other parts of the body or collected from a bone bank is transplanted between the adjacent vertebrae. As the healing occurs, the bone fuses with the spine. This stimulates growth of solid mass of bone which helps in stabilizing the spine. In some cases, metal implants such as rods, hooks, wires, plates or screws are used to hold the vertebra firm until new bone grows between them.

A minimally invasive lumbar fusion technique is used to treat fractured vertebra, lumbar instability, spine deformities—scoliosis or kyphosis, cervical disc hernias, tumors, back pain and failed back syndrome. Spondylolisthesis, a painful condition of the spine caused by disc displacement or slipped disc, can be treated with minimally invasive lumbar fusion technique.

Minimally invasive technique of fusion carries many advantages and they include:

  • Minimal damage to the adjacent tissues
  • Reduced post-operative pain
  • Reduced hospital stay
  • Faster recovery
  • Diminished blood loss
  • Penn Medicine
  • American  Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons
  •  American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
  • North American Spine Society
  • Georgetown University