Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Questions About Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

What advantages does minimally invasive spine surgery offer?

Perhaps the biggest advantage minimally invasive surgery offers the patient is reduced pain. Less of the body’s surrounding tissue and structure gets disturbed when compared with open spinal surgery techniques. You’re back on your feet much sooner after conservative surgery too, with shorter stays in hospital, if any is required.

Complication rates, including infection, are much smaller with minimally invasive surgery. Simply, there’s less exposure to infection with a smaller surgical entry point. Deep vein thrombosis is occasionally a concern with open surgery that’s no longer a worry with minimally invasive procedures.

Minimally invasive surgeries are often faster than traditional procedures when done by experienced surgeons like those at The Spine Center of Louisiana. This offers several benefits on its own. You’re under anesthesia and in the operating room for less time, both of which contribute to quicker recovery. Less time contributes to potential cost reductions as well.

How does spinal surgery work using minimally invasive techniques?

Spinal surgery using any technique is only performed after more conservative treatments, such as rest, medications, or physiotherapy, have failed. When surgery for spinal fusion or decompression is necessary, a tool called a tubular retractor is often used. The device is inserted through a small incision and creates a tunnel to the problem area. The tubular retractor holds back muscle tissue and provides a portal through which the surgeon performs the appropriate procedure.

How much do minimally invasive techniques limit the surgeon?

There’s a misconception that the smaller surgical openings made using minimally invasive techniques limits what a surgeon can accomplish. If this were the case, it would mean lower success rates for the more conservative surgery. However, certain procedural targets must be met for successful treatment, regardless of how the surgery is done.

For example, a spinal fusion requires that the spinal disc be removed, the nerve root be decompressed, implants inserted, and bone grafts performed. These steps must be completed regardless of how the surgery is performed. Rather than limiting the surgeon, minimally invasive techniques provide alternate ways of performing the same functions as conventional spinal surgery.