MINIMALLY INVASIVE SPINE SURGERY

The goal of minimally invasive spine (MIS) surgery is to stabilize the vertebral bones and spinal joints and/or relieve pressure being applied to the spinal nerves — often a result of conditions such as spinal instability, bone spurs, herniated discs, scoliosis or spinal tumors.

As opposed to open spine surgery, minimally invasive surgical approaches can be faster, safer and require less recovery time. Because of the reduced trauma to the muscles and soft tissues (compared to open procedures), the potential benefits are:

• Better cosmetic results from smaller skin incisions (sometimes as small as several millimeters)

• Less blood loss from surgery

• Reduced risk of muscle damage, since less or no cutting of the muscle is required

• Reduced risk of infection and postoperative pain

• Faster recovery from surgery and less rehabilitation required

• Diminished reliance on pain medications after surgery

In addition, some MIS surgeries are performed as outpatient procedures and utilize only local anesthesia — so there is less risk for an adverse reaction to general anesthesia.

As with any surgical procedure, no matter how minimal, there are certain risks associated that include, but are not limited to:

• Possible adverse reaction to the anesthetic

• Unexpected blood loss during the procedure

• Localized infections, no matter how small the incision area

And, though uncommon, there is always a small chance that the initial MIS surgery cannot be completed, requiring either a second procedure or full open surgery.