Minimally invasive surgery can be faster and safer than traditional spine surgery, which leads to an easier recovery for you. At The Spine Center in Roanoke, Virginia, fellowship-trained spine surgeon James Leipzig, MD, FACS, specializes in minimally invasive surgical techniques, including microsurgery and robotic surgery. For advanced expertise in minimally invasive spine surgery, call the office or request an appointment online today.
Minimally invasive surgery uses smaller incisions than open surgery, causing less damage to your muscles and soft tissues. Because there’s less trauma to healthy tissues, minimally invasive surgery offers many potential benefits, including:
Additionally, The Spine Center may perform some minimally invasive spine surgeries as outpatient procedures using local anesthesia so that you can avoid a hospital stay.
Minimally invasive surgery can treat a wide range of disorders that cause back pain and neck pain, including:
The Spine Center takes a conservative approach to treatment and only recommends surgery when nonsurgical methods like medication and physical therapy have failed.
There are many ways to minimize tissue damage during spine surgery. The Spine Center may use various techniques, such as:
A tubular retractor is a small instrument that creates a passageway to your spine through your skin and soft tissues, pushing them aside instead of cutting through them. Your surgeon operates using small instruments that fit through the tubular retractor.
Some procedures require the placement of instrumentation like rods and screws to support and stabilize the vertebrae. Percutaneous placement involves using X-ray guidance to insert rods and screws through small incisions in your skin without cutting through the underlying muscle.
This technique involves approaching your spine through the side of your body and accessing the discs and bones with a tubular retractor. Approaching your lumbar spine from the side of your body may result in less pain because there’s not as much muscle tissue in the way.
Minimally invasive spine surgery has many benefits, but it’s not always the best option. In some cases, traditional open surgery may be safer and more effective.
The Spine Center most often uses minimally invasive techniques for certain procedures, such as transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), lumbar discectomy, and lumbar laminoplasty. They thoroughly review your medical history and imaging tests to determine whether minimally invasive techniques are appropriate.
To find out if you’re a candidate for minimally invasive surgery, call The Spine Center or request an appointment online today.
