Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

The emerging medical science trends and new treatments are revolutionizing the healthcare industry. Spine surgeons are opting for small surgical corridors causing less damage and smaller incisions. The development of this minimally invasive approach to spine surgery has successfully enhanced conventional spine surgery.

With a success rate between 70%-90%, minimally invasive spine surgeries are rooting their way as popular treatments.

What is minimally invasive spine surgery?

Minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) is the popular alternative to open surgery recommended by spine specialists nowadays. The surgery causes smaller incisions and less damage to the nearby muscles as compared to the traditional surgery, but achieves an outcome equivalent to open surgery & minimizing collateral damage to muscles & soft tissue.

Even a good spine specialist in Amritsar incorporates MISS for several types of spine surgery that include laminectomy lumbar discectomy and spinal fusion.

Minimally invasive spine surgery can be performed through several different types of incisions:

• Endoscopic-assisted disc decompression, where some of the disc material is removed through a small incision in the back and the rest is removed through a larger incision in the front of the neck. This type of surgery is sometimes also called a minimally invasive microdiscectomy.
• Minimally invasive discectomy (MID), which removes part or all of a herniated disc through tiny incisions at the base of your neck and/or at your waistline.
  A thin tube (catheter) may be used to enlarge this opening so it can accommodate instruments that allow for more precise removal of the herniated disc material.
• Minimally invasive anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (MICSADF), also called cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA), where only one side of your cervical spine is fused to stabilize it.

What is the process of minimally invasive spine surgery?

Minimally invasive surgery is performed by the spine surgeon and the expert medical term of spine doctors. The procedure of the surgery may vary depending on the part of the spine to be treated.

However, the common steps involved in the process include:

• Injecting general anaesthesia or local anaesthesia depending on the procedure.
• The spine surgeon uses a special X-ray/ navigation to view the entire surgery.
• After the entire setup, the spine surgeon makes a small incision on the patient’s back in the area that requires treatment. Thereafter, the surgeon inserts a tubular retractor through the incision that exposes the spine part to be treated.
• The spine surgeon inserts small tools through this retractor. Surgery can be done through an endoscope or microscope.
• The procedure ends by removing the inserted tools and retractors. The spine specialist then closes the incisions using stitches, staples, or glue and puts a bandage on the wound.

Which conditions are treated by minimally invasive spine surgery?

If you are suffering from any of the following conditions, MISS should be your go-to solution. However, consultation with spine doctors will help you make an informed decision.

Your spine surgeon in Amritsar may recommend minimally invasive spine surgery if you have one or more of the following conditions:

• Spinal stenosis — narrowing in the spinal canal that causes pressure on the spinal cord or nerves
• Spondylolisthesis — slipping forward of one vertebra over another
• Chronic back pain from degenerative disc disease
• Facet joint syndrome — irritation of facet joints in your neck or low back
• Lumbar spinal stenosis
• Degenerative disc problem
• Herniated disc
• Spinal instability that includes spondylolisthesis
• Spinal tumours
• Vertebral compression fractures

What are the risks of minimally invasive spine surgery?

Any type of spine surgery carries a baggage of rewards and complications both. So, before you decide on undergoing the minimally invasive surgery under a spine doctor in Amritsar, look into the risks that are associated with the surgery and have a comprehensive discussion about it with your spine doctor.

Observed in rarest cases, the risk involved in the MISS are:

• Damage to nerves
• Bleeding
• Blood clots
• Infection
• Recurrence of symptoms
• Failed fusion

What are the benefits of MISS?

If your spine doctor recommends MISS after your complete diagnosis and examination of spine problem, here’s a list of several benefits you are entitled to –

• Less hospital stay(depending on the procedure, you require to stay for two or fewer days on an average)
• A faster pace of recovery after surgery
• Smaller incisions as compared to standard open spine surgery
• Reduced amount of anaesthesia
• Decreased postoperative pain
• Less scarring
• Minimal damage to the nearby soft tissues and muscles
• Reduced blood loss during surgery
• Due to smaller incisions, the risk of catching infections is less

Which is better between open spine surgery and MISS?

Both open spine surgery and minimally invasive surgeries are proven to be the best in terms of treatment. However, there are differences between the two, but it all depends on the patients’ condition and the substantial recommendation of the spine specialist. Some conditions require open spine surgery, and some can be easily treated by minimally invasive spine surgery.

So, it is better to consult the best spine surgeon in Amritsar, and after weighing the benefits and risks of both treatments, one must take the decision.

Helping you better understand the two, we are penning down the common differences between the surgical treatments.

Final thoughts

If you suffer from any such spinal disorder and have had enough of non-surgical treatments, contact the best spine specialists in Amritsar at Amandeep Hospital and end all your spine problems.

With well-trained staff and state-of-the-art facilities, it is the best minimal invasive surgery hospital in the region.

Don’t delay and contact us today itself!