5 Key points of minimally invasive spine surgery

What is minimally invasive surgery spine? What techniques are applied?

It is a set of less invasive or aggressive for the patient surgical techniques, achieving at least the same results obtained with the existing conventional treatment, but with much less damage or complications. damage to the spinal muscles, surgical time, bleeding and recovery time is reduced. In short, solve the problem of reducing the risk of patient operation. These techniques do not completely replace conventional surgery, but are additional when treating a sick column arsenal.

Endoscopic spine surgery, percutaneous fusion, minimally invasive microdiskectomy, the interbody fusion TLIF, XLIF, ALIF, percutaneous interspinous devices, other percutaneous procedures (vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, nucleoplasty) are some of the most common procedures.

What kind of diseases can be treated? What requirements must meet the patient?

All pathologies of the spine may benefit from these treatments. It is a philosophy in treating the patient to achieve a cure or recovery reducing the risk or "collateral" damage.

However, each patient should be thoroughly evaluated to decide whether it is better one of these minimally invasive techniques or a conventional technique. If we make a very wide decompression of the spine or need to have a wide field of work, it is better to do an open surgery for that particular case will be the best choice.

Degenerative disease (herniated intervertebral disc and spinal canal stenosis), traumatic pathology (vertebral fractures), tumor or congenital or infectious somehow almost always can be treated with minimally invasive techniques.

Does it involve some kind of risk?

All surgical procedures have many risks for the patient. Which they are called "minimally invasive" aim to reduce this risk or "invasion" but it is impossible to cancel.

It is important to add that the risk depends (as all) of experience and specialist skills in neurosurgery . If a medical specialist column is not well trained in a minimally invasive technique, but has extensive experience in conventional "open" technique will be best for the patient to apply the latter option, because in this particular case the risk with a minimally invasive surgery, but little known by the physician, will be greater than with conventional surgery, in which your doctor is familiar with.

What is recovery?

Usually the recovery time is less, complications are minor, the pain is reduced, the need for medication, hospitalization time and return to work and normal life is also greatly reduced. Each pathology and particular technique will have its details.

What level of success offers this type of intervention?

It is assumed that the level of success is similar or superior to conventional surgery have been devoted already.

The learning curve, the time required for the doctor to be completely with the technique, is long and sometimes frustrating, however, once achieved the skills and enough experience, the success rate can exceed that of conventional or open procedures.

Once a spine specialist masters alike minimally invasive techniques and conventional techniques, the chances of cure for the patient multiply.