Lumbar Spine Surgery

Resolve Lower Back Pain

Back and back-related leg pain is a very common complaint. These symptoms are usually due to a disorder in the lumbar spine such as a degenerative disc, a disc herniation or a malalignment of the vertebral bodies such as a lumbar spondylolisthesis. Patients will usually have symptoms of back and or leg pain. Diagnostic workup usually includes a physical examination and diagnostics studies such as x-rays and MRI/CT scan. Once the proper diagnosis is made, non-surgical treatment is often the first line of treatment and is commonly very effective in resolving the patient’s pain symptoms.

Traditional lumbar surgery, although effective, is often associated with large incisions, a long hospital stay and, at times, a prolonged recovery. The introduction of minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) has allowed for similar effective resolution of a patient’s symptoms, but with much smaller incisions, faster recovery and the ability to have these surgeries performed in an outpatient setting, which is also known as an outpatient spine surgery (OPSS).

MISS ranges from a laminectomy, sometimes called a lumbar decompression, to more involved operations such as lumbar fusion. Unlike a traditional surgical spinal surgery, the goal of MISS is to minimize the size of the incision and the exposure of the spine, which lessens the amount of healing that is necessary after surgery. MISS uses specialized instrumentation like microscopes and specially designed surgical devices that allow the surgeon to avoid disrupting soft tissues such as muscles in the spine. This results in less post-surgery pain, decreased blood loss, reduced medication needs and ultimately, a faster recovery. Therefore, MISS procedures are typically safer, quicker and promote a more efficient recovery process than traditional spine surgery.

While MISS often focuses on the size of the incision, it’s only one part of a larger concept in terms of providing surgical treatment. MISS is minimally traumatic to the body and the muscles in the low back and allows these procedures to be performed in a more patient-friendly, same-day surgery setting. A major advantage and advancement of MISS techniques are that it allows patients having spinal surgeries to return home the day they have surgery rather than having the traditional three to five days of a hospital stay.