What is minimally invasive spine surgery?
Minimally invasive spine surgery is performed using specialized surgical tools in long, narrow tubes that fit through a few small incisions. Surgeons may use a surgery microscope or an endoscope to view the surgical site.
Endoscopes are narrow tubes containing fiber-optic lights and a camera that your surgeon inserts through the tiny incisions. Surgery microscopes and endoscopes both provide a magnified 3D view, allowing your surgeon to perform procedures using tools inserted through a separate incision.
What are the benefits of minimally invasive spine surgery?
Minimally invasive surgery results in less tissue trauma compared to the large open incision of traditional surgery. As a result, you have:
- Less pain following surgery
- Quicker recovery
- Minimal scarring
- Lower risk of infection
Some types of minimally invasive spine surgery offer another distinct advantage: your muscles aren’t cut like they are during open surgery. Instead, your surgeon uses a device called a tubular retractor.
A very narrow tube is gently inserted into your muscle and down to your spine, expanding the tissue to create an opening while causing little to no trauma. Your surgeon places progressively larger tubes over the original tube, one on top of the next, gradually enlarging the opening until it’s the right size for performing surgery.
When your surgery is over, your surgeon removes the tubular retractor, and the muscle tissues shift back into place. Lack of trauma to your muscles is one of the reasons you can heal quickly after minimally invasive surgery.
What types of spine conditions are treated with minimally invasive surgery?
This list shows a few of the conditions commonly treated with minimally invasive spine surgery:
- Herniated disc
- Degenerative disc disease
- Lumbar spinal stenosis
- Spinal instability
- Spondylolisthesis
- Compression fractures
- Spinal deformities
- Spine tumors and infections
What surgical procedures are included in minimally invasive spine surgery?
Most of the surgical procedures once done with open surgery are now performed with minimally invasive surgery. Even if you need spine stabilization with screws or rods, your surgeon can put the devices into place through small incisions.
A few minimally invasive procedures often performed on the spine include:
- Spinal fusion: fuses two vertebrae together to stabilize the spine
- Discectomy: removes or trims a herniated disc
- Foraminotomy: enlarges the opening where nerves enter and exit the spinal canal
- Intradiscal electrothermal therapy: uses heat to relieve a painful disc by closing tears and disabling the nerve
- Percutaneous mechanical disc decompression: an intradiscal procedure that removes a minimal amount of tissue from the center of a bulging disc
- Kyphoplasty: stabilizes a spinal fracture after putting it back in a more normal position
If you’re interested in minimally invasive spine surgery to relieve your pain, call the specialists at Clifton Surgery Center.
