Minimally invasive spine surgery is a contemporary surgical method surgeons use to conduct spine surgery. In traditional spine surgery, a surgeon makes a long single incision to reveal the treatment site. The surgeon achieves this by retracting a wide area of tissues and muscles. This could cause you to experience more postoperative pain because of more tissue damage.
In minimally invasive surgery, a surgeon makes one or several tiny incisions of less than half an inch. The tiny incisions serve as entry sites for an endoscope and surgical instruments. Your surgeon will perform the surgery through the tiny incisions, causing less tissue and muscle damage. You will also have a shorter stay at the hospital, recover faster, and experience less postoperative pain. If you need reliable Rhode Island minimally invasive spine surgery, our experienced attorneys at LAMIS can help.
Rhode Island Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Surgeons often perform the following minimally invasive spine surgeries:
Compression Fracture Repairs
If you have a spinal fracture and are not experiencing pain relief using non-surgical treatments, your surgeon can recommend a compression fracture repair. Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty are the two main types of compression fracture repairs used. Your healing time period will be short because the two procedures involve making small, minimally invasive incisions. Surgeons normally use acrylic bone cement to stabilize bone fragments that harden quickly, allowing you to go home the same day or after spending one night in the hospital.
Tumor Resection
Tumor resection is also a common minimally invasive spine surgery. This procedure, also referred to as tumor excision or tumor removal, is popular among cancer patients. It involves the careful removal of a tumor along with some of the healthy tissue enclosing it.
Tumor removal surgery normally requires a slightly larger incision than a biopsy. However, the modern, less-invasive techniques that involve laparoscopy or robotics provide many benefits to people suffering from cancer.
Spinal Instrumentation
Spinal instrumentation is often used in combination with spinal fusion. This procedure helps in maintaining spine stability while promoting bone fusion. The use of spinal instrumentation has reduced the need for firm external spinal bracing following a spinal fusion surgery. The spinal instrumentation that surgeons use includes expandable cages, connectors, artificial discs, rods, pedicle screws, and plates.
Spinal Fusion
Your surgeon could recommend a spinal fusion procedure if you have deformities of the spine. The deformities could include vertebrae instability, spinal weakness, or if you are experiencing pain caused by a herniated disc. A spinal fusion is used to mimic the normal healing process of broken bones. The purpose of a spinal fusion procedure is to connect two or more vertebrae permanently in the spine so that they do not move around.
During a spinal fusion procedure, a surgeon places a bone or bone-like material into the space between two spinal vertebrae. This assists them to heal as one cohesive unit. Metal plates, rods, and screws could be used to hold the damaged vertebrae together. If you are scheduled for a spinal fusion procedure, you could be a good candidate for minimally invasive spine surgery.
Spinal Cord Stimulator
Surgeons perform spinal cord stimulation by inserting a device into the spinal cord. The device transmits low levels of electricity to relieve pain. A spinal cord stimulator consists of electrodes or thin wires and a tiny pacemaker-life battery pack or generator.
A surgeon implants thin wires between the spinal cord and the vertebrae and a generator under the skin, particularly near the buttocks or abdomen of the patient. With a remote control, the patient can send electrical impulses on demand. The electrical impulses will then mask the pain sensation.
Resection Of Synovial Cyst
Synovial cysts can be treated using a microdecompression surgery alone or a decompression surgery combined with a spinal fusion. This is a minimally invasive surgery, which is similar to a microdiscectomy.
Sometimes, the synovial cyst could reform later. If this happens, a more extensive surgery would be required, like decompression with spine fusion surgery.
Kyphoplasty
Surgeons use kyphoplasty to restore a damaged vertebrae's height and relieve chronic pain. During the surgery, a special cement is injected into the vertebrae. The first step involves creating space using a balloon-like device.
Your doctor can recommend a kyphoplasty if your vertebrae are damaged because of cancer or when you have been diagnosed with a spinal fracture. A weakening of the bones could cause the fracture. Osteoporosis conditions could cause weak bones, resulting in the collapse or compression of the vertebrae. Minimally invasive spine surgery comes in handy when performing kyphoplasty.
Lumbar Disc Arthroplasty
A spine surgeon could perform a lumbar disc arthroplasty or lumbar artificial disc replacement surgery to treat a patient with chronic, significant low back pain resulting from degenerative disc disease. Your surgeon can recommend a lumbar disc arthroplasty if a minimum of six months of non-surgical rehabilitation treatments have not worked. A doctor can also recommend the procedure if pain is limiting your ability to function in your daily life.
During surgery, your surgeon will replace the painful spinal disc with a special device that mimics the disc's natural movement. The artificial disc replacement aims to stabilize the spinal segment and reduce pain by minimizing micro-motion and inflammation.
Laminectomy
This is a common type of minimally invasive spine surgery where the surgeon creates space by removing the back part of the vertebrae, which covers a patient's spinal cord. Laminectomy, also known as spinal decompression surgery, expands the patient's spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. Patients suffering from arthritic spines usually experience this pressure. The pressure is normally caused by bony overgrowths inside the spinal canal.
Your surgeon could recommend laminectomy if more conservative treatments are not relieving your symptoms. He/she could also advise you to undergo this procedure if your symptoms are more significant or dramatically worsening.
Foraminotomy
Often, spinal stenosis could occur when blockages begin to block an intervertebral foramen or narrow the spinal column. The following are the conditions that cause spinal stenosis:
- An enlargement of a nearby ligament
- Degeneration of the intervertebral discs
- Congenital issues
- Tumors
- Cysts
- Degenerative arthritis of the spine
Your surgeon could perform a minimally invasive spine surgery called a foraminotomy to lessen your symptoms. The surgeon would make a tiny incision on the back or neck during the surgery to expose the damaged vertebrae. He/she will widen the intervertebral foramen and extract blockages that could be present.
Discectomy
Discectomy is an ideal procedure for patients suffering from nerve compression or irritation caused by a herniated disc. Surgeons use discectomy to remove the damaged section of a herniated disc. This procedure is ideal for treating persistent pain that radiates down your legs and arms.
Unfortunately, discectomy does not treat actual neck and back pain. If you experience chronic neck and back pain, your spine expert would advise you to use more conservative pain relief options, like physical therapy or lifestyle change.
Cyberknife
This is a new advancement for patients suffering from spinal tumors. The patent Cyberknife System normally delivers high doses of radiation with pinpoint accuracy using an image-guided linear accelerator.
A skilled surgeon would guide the Cyberknife System to deliver the radiation where it is required while minimizing exposure of the sensitive, healthy tissues around the spinal cord and the tumor. As a result, you will have a lesser risk of experiencing most of the side effects related to traditional spinal tumor treatments.
Corpectomy
A microscope and fluoroscopic guidance are used to perform cervical corpectomy surgery on the front of the cervical spine. The vertical body and the discs located above and below the vertical body are removed during a single-level cervical corpectomy. Once that is done, the doctor will carefully lift the bone or ligaments off the spinal cord to relieve pressure. He/she will then put a structural cage in the empty space to offer stability. In some situations, a surgeon inserts screws and plates into the spine to stabilize it further for a spinal fusion.
Candidates For Rhode Island Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Most spine conditions are treatable using minimally invasive spine surgery. Surgeons opt for minimally invasive spine surgery, even if some patients require a more traditional approach. Spine surgical procedures have been made easier for doctors and less invasive for patients because of the new technological innovations. Patients with the following conditions qualify for minimally invasive spine surgery:
- Pinched nerves
- Scoliosis
- Herniated discs
- Spinal tumors
- Spondylolisthesis
- Compression fractures
- Spondylosis
- Spinal stenosis
- Degenerative disc disease
Minimally invasive spine surgery reduces infection risk and recovery time for patients. Unlike traditional operations, this procedure can also reduce potential muscle and nerve damage. Most of these procedures also have better long-term outcomes. For example, disc replacement through minimally invasive spinal surgery can restore mobility more than spinal fusion can.
On the other hand, minimally invasive spine surgery cannot be applicable to everybody. People are different, and you need to consult your doctor to ascertain if you are eligible for minimally invasive spine surgery.
Patients Who Do Not Qualify For Rhode Island Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Surgeons consider several factors to determine whether a patient qualifies for minimally invasive spine surgery. Here are some of the factors that can disqualify you as a candidate for minimally invasive spine surgery:
If You Are A Smoker
Smoking could affect a patient's blood in many ways, including increasing the potential for clotting. Your surgeon would request you to avoid smoking in the months after and before the procedure, if not forever.
Overweight Patients
Doctors advise obese patients not to undergo minimally invasive spine operations. These patients could experience problems with the anesthesia, healing, and long-term success of the surgery.
Epidural Scarring
Patients who already have scarring in their spine are not allowed to undergo minimally invasive spine surgery. Doctors could prescribe other alternatives for these patients.
The Overall Health Of A Patient
Patients with other health problems that could affect the procedure and their recovery are not eligible for minimally invasive spine surgery. Subsequently, if you take certain medications or have other medical conditions, this procedure could be risky.
The Patient's Age
Patients 60 years or older are not eligible for minimally invasive spine surgery. Even if the procedure is less invasive, it could be risky for older patients to undergo it, and recovering from it is usually difficult.
Risks Associated With Rhode Island Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
The risks related to minimally invasive surgery are classified as follows:
Anesthesia Risks
Most spinal surgeries require general anesthesia. Anesthesia use poses some risks. However, anesthesia rarely poses major complications, provided it is administered properly. The specific risk a patient faces depends on the type of anesthesia, their response to anesthesia, and their health. Some of the anesthesia risks are:
- Sore throat
- Damage to the lips or teeth
- Swelling of the throat
- Complications from the breathing tube
- Nausea and vomiting after the procedure
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Seizures
- Changes in blood pressure
- Allergic reaction to medications, and
- Changes in heart rate
Risks Of Complications During Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
A patient could suffer nerve or spinal cord injury and dural tear. There is also a risk of injuring the nerves or spinal cord anytime surgery is done on the spine. The instruments used, swelling or scar formation could cause complications after the procedure. A patient could suffer paralysis in certain areas if the spinal cord is damaged. Injury to the nerves could cause weakness, numbness, or pain in the area supplied by the nerve. Patients could also suffer sexual dysfunction if the nerve that connects to the pelvic region is damaged.
A dura mater covers the spinal nerves and cord. Surgery could cause tearing in this cover. However, it is rare to have a dural tear during any form of spine surgery. If noticed during the procedure, the tear is repaired and heals uneventfully. If not identified, the tear might not heal. It could continue oozing the spinal fluid, and the patient could experience problems later.
Risks Of Complications After The Procedure
The risks the patients could face after a minimally invasive spine surgery could include:
- Wound infection
- Implant and fusion complications
- Medical complications
- Blood clots in the legs
Find Reliable Rhode Island Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Services Near Me
If you are to undergo minimally invasive spine surgery in Rhode Island, your choice of surgeon matters. At LAMIS, we have experienced spine surgeons. We can offer you the treatment you deserve. Contact us at 310-734-6088 to speak to one of our spinal surgeons.
