Spine neurosurgeon in Zaporizhzhia: treatment of the spine and back pain
Dmytro Ivakhnenko - neurosurgeon of the highest category in Zaporizhzhia. PhD in Medicine · associate professor · 30 years in practice.
Spine treatment: I operate on herniated discs, spinal stenosis and vertebral fractures.
If your case can be treated without surgery, you will hear that from me straight away.
Appointments at the City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care: 80 Peremohy St, room 211, Zaporizhzhia. By prior appointment, Mon-Fri 08:30-15:00. Bring MRI or CT scans on a disc or a flash drive, no older than six months.
The best spine surgery is the one you managed to avoid
Spinal surgery is not about operating. It is about knowing exactly when not to operate. Consultation with a spine neurosurgeon, diagnosis and surgical treatment of the spine in Zaporizhzhia: herniated disc, spinal canal stenosis, vertebral fracture, spondylolisthesis, facet syndrome.
I read your MRI and CT scans, decide whether surgery is indicated and choose the method: from radiofrequency denervation and vertebroplasty to microdiscectomy and spinal fusion. When conservative treatment is enough, I say so plainly.
My PhD thesis was on the treatment of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries in elderly patients. Hence the principle I work by: age in itself is not a contraindication.
What people come to me with
Most people arrive not with a diagnosis but with a complaint: the lower back hurts, the pain runs down the leg, the fingers go numb, you cannot walk a hundred metres without stopping. Naming the condition is my job, not yours.
This section explains what different pains and symptoms come from: why lower back pain radiates into the leg, where numbness in the hand comes from, how a herniated disc differs from spinal stenosis, and when back pain is in fact a vertebral fracture or an infection. I have tried to write it in plain language, so that it is readable without medical training.
Choose what is troubling you and you will get a rough idea of what you are dealing with: when the condition is treated without surgery, which symptoms mean that waiting is the wrong choice, and what to bring to the visit.
What I do
Microsurgical, percutaneous and endoscopic operations on the spine and peripheral nerves in Zaporizhzhia: removal of a herniated disc, decompression for stenosis, spinal stabilisation, vertebroplasty for a fracture, nerve blocks and radiofrequency denervation for chronic pain.
You do not need to know the name of the procedure - I choose the method after the examination and the scans. Here you can see in advance how an operation goes, how long it takes, what anaesthesia is used and how long recovery lasts.
Why patients trust me
How a consultation can end
There is no single scenario: treatment of spine and peripheral nerve conditions depends on the scans, how long the pain has lasted and the neurological deficit. Here are the three most common outcomes of a first visit.
I can tell what exactly you need only after examining you and seeing your scans. I do not make a diagnosis over the phone or from a description of symptoms.
Preparing for surgery? Here: preparation, anaesthesia and recovery
Neurosurgeon consultation in Zaporizhzhia with an electronic referral
You can see the neurosurgeon with an electronic referral from your family doctor. Here is how:
- Call your family doctor and ask for an electronic referral to a neurosurgeon.
- Call the number on this site and book a visit with neurosurgeon Dmytro Ivakhnenko - I try to answer the phone myself during consulting hours.
- Come on the appointed day with your MRI or CT scans on a disc or a flash drive - the images themselves, not the report. Patients are seen in order of appointment.
- If surgery is already on the table, say so during the call - then you will be seen without queueing.
A consultation is also possible without a referral.
A consultation is possible without an electronic referral. The referral is not what gets you in to see me - it is what lets the visit go through the state medical guarantees programme.
If surgery is the question, say so at the start of the call: you will be seen without queueing, and we will go over what to bring and which day to plan the admission for. If you have a referral but are not sure it was filled in correctly, that is no problem - we will look at it on the spot.
Call the number, tell me your situation, and we will go over the details while booking.
The questions people ask most
No. Most back pain is treated without surgery. An operation is needed when a nerve is persistently compressed, when weakness in a limb is increasing or bladder function is affected, and when conservative treatment has not worked. After seeing your scans I will tell you plainly whether surgery is indicated in your case.
Start with a neurologist: they manage the conservative treatment that helps most people. You see a neurosurgeon when six weeks of treatment have not helped, when weakness in a leg or arm is increasing, or when the MRI shows a compressed nerve. If you are not sure, call - I will tell you whether you need a surgeon at all.
Age in itself is not a contraindication. What matters is the state of the heart, blood vessels, lungs and blood clotting - the anaesthetist assesses this before surgery. For older patients, percutaneous and minimally invasive methods are more often the right choice: local or spinal anaesthesia, less strain on the body, a shorter hospital stay.
After removal of a herniated disc you can usually do office work within a week, while limiting the load on your spine. After vertebrae are fixed with implants, movement becomes more comfortable within one to two weeks, and full recovery after spinal fusion can take several months. Exact timing depends on the scope of the operation.
MRI or CT scans on a disc or a flash drive - the images themselves, not the report. Preferably 1.5 Tesla and no more than six months old. If the pain and numbness are in your arm, the cervical spine is needed; if in your leg, the lumbar spine. Also bring discharge summaries from previous treatment and a referral, if you have one.
The operation takes from one to six hours depending on its scope. The stay in the surgical ward ranges from one day to two weeks. The rehabilitation department is in the same hospital, so there is no need to transfer anywhere else.
Call me and I will tell you what to do next
Booking is by phone only. I answer the calls myself, Mon-Fri 08:30-15:00.
+380 67 901 37 01What to say when you call
- What hurts and for how long. For example: lower back pain radiating into the left leg, third week.
- Whether you have MRI or CT scans on a disc or a flash drive - the images themselves, not the report. If you do, say how recent they are. If not, I will tell you on the phone what to bring and whether you need any scan before the visit at all.
- Whether you have already been told you need surgery. If so, say it straight away: you will be seen without queueing.
Where to find me
80 Peremohy St, City Emergency Hospital, room 211, Zaporizhzhia