"I have no doubt that the
day will dawn when the
mystery of the mind is
no longer a mystery."
- Wilder Penfield
Canadian Neurosurgeon
The Mystery of the Mind
Spine Center
An Overview
The Spine Center is an alliance of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeons providing quality surgical treatment of injuries and illnesses in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. This includes evaluation and treatment of low back and neck pain, herniated or bulging vertebral discs, spinal instability, degenerative changes, nerve root compression, spinal stenosis, removal of tumors, traumatic (and compression) vertebral fractures, infections, spinal AV fistulas, Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and adult and pediatric spinal deformities.
"At a dedicated center, like our Spine Center, we provide personalized, state of the art care for our patients. This lets them achieve their goals of getting back to a normal life.
And it lets us do it with the knowledge that those caring for them have been through this before and can anticipate their needs. "Doing it all in a patient and family friendly environment makes a remarkable difference to my patients."
 |  - Jason Thompson, MD |
Services
The Washington Neuroscience Institute Spine Center is one of the only hospitals in the NW currently performing the recently FDA-approved artificial disc replacement surgery on patients meeting the surgical criteria for this procedure.
In addition, the Spine Center is one of the few medical centers in the Seattle area to offer cervical disc replacement as an alternative to spinal fusion. This cutting edge procedure treats symptoms such as arm pain or weakness caused by degenerative disc disease in the neck, while preserving motion in the neck.
Additional surgical procedures performed include:
- decompressive laminectomies for stenosis
- laminectomies and discectomies for herniated discs
- posterior and anterior cervical fusions for disc problems
- instability or spinal cord compression
- posterior interbody and posterolateral thoracic and lumbar fusions for stenosis
- disc problems and instability
- removal and insertion of spinal instrumentation
- surgical reconstruction of spinal deformities
- revisions of previous spinal surgery
Inpatient Spine Program
Valley Medical Center is the only hospital in the Puget Sound area to offer three surgeons with familiarity with disc replacement with the recently FDA-approved intervertebral disc replacement.
Specialty in disc and bone disease of the spine The inpatient program is located in Valley Medical Center's recently renovated suite of operating rooms, which include state-of-the-art imaging, microscopy, and on-line imaging and communication. Most patients undergoing spine operations are observed at least overnight at Valley Medical Center’s brand-new Neuroscience Institute's Spine Unit.
Various procedures include laminectomies, spinal cord exploration for nerve damage, cervical fusions, etc.
Weekly patient education meetings assist to prepare patients for upcoming surgery and care after surgery. Patient brochures are distributed for reference to all services provided and available.
Outpatient Program
The outpatient spine program is achieved in the clinical setting of the Surgeon’s office. In the clinic, physicians work with patients and their referring physicians to provide quality evaluation, diagnosis, management and surgical treatment of congenital and acquired spinal conditions and injuries.
Patients benefit from having access to on-campus laboratory and diagnostic testing services including CT scans, MRI scans, nerve testing and x-rays.
Free patient parking is provided on the Valley Medical Center campus.
