Get your surgery for free by claiming a refund from your local health board. The clinic helps patients with the documents needed to claim a refund after following the EU directive route for medical treatment abroad. It applies to patients who are insured under the systems of one of the EU countries and may not get the surgery due to long waiting times.
The rehabilitation centre is located at a SPA resort town called Druskininkai. It is equipped with modern facilities. The professionals there have years of experience working with people after various surgeries and injuries.
Rehabilitation in Lithuania – from € 130 / £ 116 per day
An individual rehabilitation program is prepared for each patient depending on the type of surgery, general patient‘s well-being, health status and other factors.
Our clinic works with highly professional and educated surgeons. They have 10-20 years of experience in the field of orthopaedic surgery. They each perform 500 surgeries per year. Moreover, our surgeons are members of various prestigious surgical societies both Lithuanian and international. Our joint replacement surgeon S. Tarasevicius is an author of 150 scientific publications in different medical journals. Find more information about our surgeons here.
Our clinic works according to the highest standards set by the European Union. This helps to guarantee the quality of medical service.
During your entire stay in Lithuania you will receive personal care as well as transport to and from the clinic, hotel, and airport. You will not have to worry about a thing. You will be assisted from the moment of plane landing in Vilnius or Kaunas airport till your departure.
We have no waiting line so we can schedule your surgery as soon as you are ready to do so.
Everyone in our clinic speaks English, including nurses, assistants and the surgeon.
2-3 hour regular flights operate from all main airports in the UK & Ireland. Lithuania is closer than you thought. You can find the list of direct flights here. Please note that airlines constantly add new flights and new destinations, therefore feel free to contact us if you need help choosing the flight that suits you best.
Lithuania has been a part of the EU and NATO since 2004. Lithuania has one of the fastest growing economies in the whole region and the second fastest internet speed in the world. Lithuanian medical schools have trained many medical professionals who are highly appreciated and employed by many foreign hospitals, among which hospitals in the UK. Our clinic works according to the highest standards set to the medical institutions by the European Union.
Spinal fusion
Spinal fusion is a surgery designed to stabilize the spine and reduce back pain. The goal of this procedure is to weld two or more spinal vertebrae together using a surgical hardware and bone graft material. You can also find other names of this procedure like spinal arthrodesis, spondylodesis and spondylosyndesis.
Candidates for spinal fusion are people with disorders that cause instability of the spine and chronic back pain. These disorders include fractured vertebra, spinal instability caused by severe arthritis, spondylosis, spinal deformities like scoliosis or kyphosis, removal of the damaged intervertebral disc, spinal tumours and spondylolisthesis.
The main principle of spinal fusion surgery is associated to the natural bone growth processes which help to fuse spinal vertebrae. This requires using a bone graft (small piece of bone) which stimulates bone growth in the place where it is inserted and helps the vertebrae to heal into a solid bone. The graft may be harvested either from the patient (ussually a piece of a hip bone is used) or from a donor. Also, artificial bone graft materials are available. When the vertebrae grow into a solid bone, excessive motion between them is restricted. Moreover, stretching of spinal nerves and surrounding tissues (ligaments and muscles) is diminished. So, as a result, the vertebrae will not move and the pain should disappear.
There are several different approaches to the spine, but usually, a surgeon makes an incision in the back directly over the spine. The length of the incision is approximately 15-20 cm (6-8 inches). The surgeon removes the intervertebral disc and inserts a special cage with the bone graft inside. Furthermore, the surgeon may use plates, screws and rods in order to provide stability to the vertebrae while the bone graft heals.
Spinal fusion is performed under general anaesthesia, which means that the patient is sleeping during the whole procedure and does not feel anything. The approximate duration of the procedure is 3 to 6 hours but it may vary according to the individual patient.
Spinal fusion requires two or three days stay at hospital. Some pain and discomfort are usual after such procedures, therefore pain killers will be necessary for a while. Physical therapy and rehabilitation exercises are usually prescribed after spinal fusion.
As with any other surgery, there are some possible risks related to spinal fusion. These include infection, bleeding, recurring symptoms, nerve damage, thrombosis (blood clots in the legs) and pain at the hip or other area that was used for bone graft harvesting.
It is necessary to contact a doctor immediately if these signs occur: red, swollen or weeping surgical wound, elevated body temperature, especially with shaking chills, swelling or pain in the calf, especially followed by extended redness above or below the knee.