Minimally Invasive Surgery
Minimally invasive surgery uses a smaller incision than traditional surgery. The muscles of the spine are gently separated rather than cut. The concept behind using minimally invasive spine surgery is to treat spine issues with less injury to the muscles and other structures in the spine.
Advantages
Given the advances in technology, new and improved tools and equipment are used to help the surgeon isolate and see only the problem area in the spine. As a result, there are advantages to using minimally invasive techniques when the conditions are appropriate, including:
- Faster recovery time compared to traditional surgery
- Smaller incisions are made
- Less bleeding
- Less post-operative pain
- Shorter hospital or outpatient facility stay
Minimally Invasive Procedures
Several spine procedures can potentially be performed using minimally invasive techniques, such as:
Lumbar Discectomy - A procedure that removes all of part of a diseased, damaged or herniated spinal disc that is placing pressure on the nerves of the lower back.
Cervical Discectomy - A cervical discectomy is a surgical procedure that involves relieving the pressure placed on nerve roots and/or the spinal cord by a herniated disc or bone spurs in the neck - a condition referred to as nerve root compression.
Spine Fusion - A spinal fusion surgery involves adding a bone graft to a segment of the spine in order to stop the motion at a painful vertebral segment. The idea is to decrease pain generated from the joint. The bone graft then grows between the two vertebra to create a bone fusion. As a result, there is one fixed bone that has replaced a moving joint, which stops the motion that was causing a problem.