Advanced Spine Care

The Joy & Boysie Bollinger Advanced Spine Center at Ochsner Health provides the most thorough spine care in the Gulf South.

Why choose Ochsner for advanced spine care?

The Joy & Boysie Bollinger Advanced Spine Center at Ochsner Health provides the most thorough spine care in the Gulf South. Our team of neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons and advanced practice providers has extensive experience in treating all spinal disorders.

Ochsner’s advanced spine program is the only one in the Gulf South that combines the knowledge and expertise of both neurosurgical and orthopedic spine surgery. Our spine-fellowship trained surgeons work together as one team, collaborating during every phase of patient care. We also share our research methods, approaches and results. This allows us to treat a variety of advanced spinal conditions safely and efficiently. Our clinical navigators help guide patients through their care journey, making sure they have seamless care and an overall excellent experience.

Conditions and treatments

The Joy & Boysie Bollinger Advanced Spine Center team treats all surgical spinal conditions. We specialize in advanced spine surgery, and offer a range of nonsurgical and surgical options to treat your neck pain and back pain.

We work closely with other specialties including pain management, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pre-operative care, nursing, ICU care, acute pain service and many others to ensure all our patients’ needs are met.

Conditions we treat
We specialize in advanced spine surgery and treat all surgical spinal conditions, including:
- Scoliosis
- Spinal deformity
- Spine infections
- Spine tumors and spinal cord tumors
- Lumbar disc herniations
- Complex spinal conditions
We also specialize in revision spine surgery, treating patients who have not had success with conservative or nonsurgical treatments, and patients who have had unsuccessful previous spinal surgeries.
Treatments we offer

Our team offers a range of nonsurgical and surgical options to treat your neck pain and back pain. The foundation of our care is conservative management, which means we try to avoid surgery if possible.
Our goal is to improve your quality of life, whether through decreasing your pain, improving your neurologic function or correcting your posture.
Minimally invasive spine surgery

We are the first and only program in the region to use augmented reality technology for spine surgery, and the only combined orthopedic-neurological spine surgery program in the Gulf South.
Our team has access to the best surgical technology in the region. We use the latest technologies in virtual reality, augmented reality, computer navigation and robotics to enhance surgeries.
Our fellowship-trained surgeons are highly specialized in spine surgery. They have extensive experience in minimally invasive surgical techniques, including robotic spine surgery and traditional open surgery.
Because of our team approach to surgery, patients generally experience faster and safer surgeries. This means less time in the operating room, less time under general anesthesia, less blood loss during surgery, fewer blood transfusions and faster recovery.
Clinical trials and research

We are at the forefront of spinal cancer care with access to the latest treatments and clinical trials. The Bollinger Advanced Spine Center is actively engaged in research. We participate in research projects that involve reviewing radiation exposure during spine surgery and using artificial intelligence in spine surgery.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What are advanced spine conditions?

Advanced, or complex, spine conditions are health issues that affect the spine. This includes the bones in your back and also the nerves, muscles, and sometimes the spinal cord itself. Examples include severe scoliosis (a condition where the spine curves in a way it shouldn't), spinal tumors (abnormal growths) or injuries that require special care from doctors.
What is the recovery time for advanced spine surgery?

Advanced spine surgery covers a wide range of spine problems, and recovery time after spine surgery depends on the nature of the problem, the type of surgery you have, the severity of your condition, your age, fitness level and overall health. Most people are walking right away after surgery and starting to get back to normal life with some activity restrictions. Most people take about six weeks off from work, depending on the nature of their jobs, to recover from surgery. The full benefit of complex spine surgery often takes several months to a year after surgery.
How long do nerves take to heal after back surgery?

In most cases, nerve pain related to complex spine problems improves immediately or within a few weeks of surgery. Improvement in nerve dysfunction such as arm or leg weakness related to complex spine problems varies depending on its severity and duration, but generally takes several months to a year.
How long does scoliosis surgery take?

Scoliosis surgery generally takes between four to eight hours, but each case is different and shorter or longer operating times are not unusual. It is a major surgery that involves realigning the spine while protecting the nerves, spinal cord, blood vessels and internal organs.
What are the permanent restrictions after a spinal fusion or scoliosis surgery?

One of the goals of scoliosis surgery is spinal fusion, in which the separate bones of the spinal column heal together to form one solid bone. This process generally takes about three months for the bone to heal. Before the bone heals, there are modest activity restrictions placed such as limiting bending, twisting and lifting heavy objects. After the spine fuses, all activity restrictions are usually lifted. There will be some loss of range of motion of the spine after surgery, but in general this is not limiting to patients in terms of function or quality of life.

Awards and accolades

Ochsner’s neurosurgery program is the only neurosurgical program in Louisiana ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

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"This is a miracle to me – I can’t believe how wonderful I feel. I have no more chronic pain from the day after surgery. I can’t thank Dr. Yu enough.”

Melanie W.

"Dr. Yu and his staff are the best. They provided the necessary care and kept me well informed.”

Cleven R.

“My quality of life has greatly improved. I can walk long distances without pain and stand for a long time. And my wife and I can have a good life together going on more vacations. Almost everything I do is pain-free.”

Edward C.

Advanced Spine Care

Why choose Ochsner for advanced spine care?

Conditions and treatments

Conditions we treat Chevron Arrow

Treatments we offer Chevron Arrow

Minimally invasive spine surgery Chevron Arrow

Clinical trials and research Chevron Arrow

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What are advanced spine conditions? Chevron Arrow

What is the recovery time for advanced spine surgery? Chevron Arrow

How long do nerves take to heal after back surgery? Chevron Arrow

How long does scoliosis surgery take? Chevron Arrow

What are the permanent restrictions after a spinal fusion or scoliosis surgery? Chevron Arrow

Awards and accolades

Request an appointment

Conditions we treat

Treatments we offer

Minimally invasive spine surgery

Clinical trials and research

What are advanced spine conditions?

What is the recovery time for advanced spine surgery?

How long do nerves take to heal after back surgery?

How long does scoliosis surgery take?

What are the permanent restrictions after a spinal fusion or scoliosis surgery?