What is Endoscopic Spine Surgery?
The last several years have seen great strides in developing advanced surgical solutions for spinal problems. Many of these advances involve minimally invasive procedures that leave surrounding tissue undisturbed, allowing faster recovery times and eliminating many of the complications associated with invasive back surgery operations.
Minimally invasive spine surgery is taken one step further by state-of-the-art miniaturized medical equipment, such as fiber optic cameras and microscopes. These procedures, often referred to asendoscopic spine surgery, lend themselves to treating a variety of spinal conditions and disorders including slipped disc and pinched nerves. These minimally invasive spine surgery procedures can remove tissue exerting pressure on nerve roots emanating from the spine, providing dramatic relief for back pain and restricted mobility. However, like any form of surgery, endoscopic spine surgery should be performed only if non-surgical treatment options have been exhausted and these restricted access techniques can adequately address the patients’ diseases. Conservative treatments include physical therapy, epidural injections, and medication to control pain and discomfort. If you and your physician conclude that endoscopic back surgery may be appropriate, the decision on which procedure is best should be made only after a thorough evaluation of all aspects of your case. In some situations where bone must be removed from a vertebra as part of the surgical procedure (as in a laminectomy or spinal decompression surgery procedure), the endoscopic procedure does not provide adequate access or visualization to perform a proper decompression. Suboptimal removal of pain generators, especially when followed by the fusion of adjacent vertebrae, can have adverse outcomes. Moreover, it is irreversible as spine fusion surgery eliminates the independent flexion and rotation of the fused vertebrae. But another advance of recent years, the TOPS™ System, has proven to provide a better clinical outcome than spinal fusion. An implant device, the TOPS, or Total Posterior Solution System, preserves the independent motion of the individual vertebrae.
If you suffer from back pain or other symptoms of spinal problems, don’t let outdated ideas about back surgery keep you from seeking treatment. Today a host of conservative treatments such as medication and physical therapy can often provide relief, and when surgery is called for, it can often be performed without complications.