Minimally Invasive Back Procedures

Surgery, be it minimally invasive or traditional must always be considered as the last treatment option for spinal disorders. Minimally invasive back operations is often considered for severe conditions like degenerative discs, sciatica, spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis. Decision for minimally invasive back procedures is taken when the symptoms that the patient is suffering due to his back problem fail to show any improvement from non-surgical treatment options.

It is true that minimally invasive back surgery have become quite popular as they only require small incisions, cause less bleeding, have less post-operative pain and require shorter recovery time as compared to traditional spinal surgery. However, there are several spinal conditions like high-degree scoliosis, tumors and severe infections that may not work well with a minimally invasive surgical treatment and they may require standard open treatment.

 Types of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Procedures

  • Minimally Invasive Back Procedures Minimally Invasive Spine Fusion – Usually a minimally invasive spinal fusion is a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion which is also known as TLIF. In this back procedure the surgeon makes the incision in the spine a little bit from the side.
  •  Laminotomy – In this procedure the compression on the spinal column is decreased by removing a portion of the lamina.
  •  Kyphoplasty – This procedure is often done on patients suffering from osteoporosis and has compression fractures in the spine.
  •  Foraminotomy ( Posterior cervical microforaminotomy) – Commonly known as PCMF this procedure clears away the excess scar tissue, disc material and bone in the spine and thus help in relieving pressure and discomfort in the neck and cervical region.
  •  Minimally invasive surgical corpectomy – Performed by making a two inch incision this is an outpatient procedure which helps the patient by removing compression on the spinal cord.

 Recovering from Minimally Invasive Back Procedures

In these types of surgical procedures the hospital stay is short with patients allowed to go home in 2 to 3 days. Also, the post-operative pain in MISS is considerably less than traditional open surgery. Doctor may recommend physical therapy as well as exercises depending upon the condition of the patient.