Minimally invasive surgery offers a wide range of benefits when compared to traditional open back surgery. In simple terms, it’s less of what you don’t want and more of what you do. The Southeastern Spine Institute’s team of well-trained spinal surgeons use state-of-the-art endoscopic techniques to provide you with the best possible treatment and least impact on the your body and your overall health.

Below are some of the most compelling reasons to take advantage of this marvelous advancement in modern medicine:

• Less blood loss — A smaller incision results in fewer cut blood vessels, so you lose less blood during the procedure. This also greatly reduces the chance that you’ll go into shock.
• Less risk of infection — Medical records indicate that patients undergoing open spinal surgery were nearly six times more likely to develop surgical site infection compared to those who underwent minimally invasive surgery.
• Less scarring — Endoscopic surgical procedures require smaller incisions than traditional methods, and thus leave smaller scars. Furthermore, the scars that do form aren’t as rough and unsightly.
• Less tissue injury — The longer incisions necessary in traditional surgical procedures generally require cutting through muscle. The damaged muscle tissue causes pain and lengthens the recovery time. Ideal surgical procedures should always strive to minimize the extraneous effects to your body.
• Less time in the hospital — While traditional back surgery may have required a lengthy hospital stay, minimally invasive surgery procedures can sometimes allow you to return home the same day as the procedure.
• Less recuperation time — Less damage to body results in less recuperation time for you. While traditional surgical techniques require six to eight weeks of recovery, minimally invasive surgery procedures usually only require two.
• Less expensive — The cost of any surgery must measure the entirety of the procedure. Endoscopic surgery helps minimize pre- and post-op appointments, anesthesia, hospital time, and post-surgery medication. The procedure is widely accepted and covered by nearly all insurance companies.
• More safety — The smaller incisions and fewer traumas to your body result in an overall safer procedure.
• More accurate — The main advantage of traditional open surgical methods was that a surgeon had a good view of the spine on which he was operating. Fortunately, with today’s new video equipment, the surgeon has even better visualization through the magnification of the bones and nerves. Better sight means more accurate treatment.

The Pros Have It

Minimally invasive surgery for the spine is not an experimental procedure. It has been successfully used for years. Endoscopy has a long history in medicine. In fact, there are records of Hippocrates himself making use of it. New technologies and cutting-edge research is making what was once a painful and traumatic surgery into a much more benign experience.

The procedure demands a highly trained team of specialists and very expensive equipment. These aren’t available everywhere. Minimally invasive surgery isn’t possible in every situation, but the Southeastern Spine Institute makes use of this technique whenever its surgeons can recommend it.