By James Watson


By tradition spine surgery is usually handled as an open surgery. This implies that the area to be operated is open by means of a long incision to enable the surgeon to see the anatomy. However, with technological advancements lots of medical conditions are currently being treated through minimally invasive surgical procedure (MI). This procedure is shortened as MISS. When in search of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery should be given priority.

This procedure offers lots of benefits to patients. First, it prevents severe muscle damage and damage of other surrounding parts of the spinal cord. Considering that the incision is made very small, this translates to less pain and reduced healing time. The surgery only happens after a long period of pain and if the problem is not responding to physical therapy, medication, and other relevant interventions.

Doctors only perform MISS if they are able to pinpoint the exact source of the pain that one is feeling in their back. There are several minimally invasive techniques that one can use. Spinal fusion and lumbar decompression are some of the common procedures for which MI techniques can be used. The doctors use very specialized instruments for accessing the spine via small incisions.

In traditional open surgery, doctors make incisions of between 5 and 6 inches in length in the back area. After the incision is made, muscles and soft tissue that are revealed are pulled to the side so that the spine can be accessed. This access allows the doctor to remove and/or treat diseased parts of the spinal cord. The incision also allows for insertion of cages, screws and other graft materials that are necessary.

The problem with this open approach to the surgical treatment is that it results into damage of soft muscles and muscles in the back area. This means that a lot of damage is done to anatomy than what the surgeon needs. The big incisions carry a higher risk of infection besides causing loss of huge amounts of blood.

The reason why MISS was developed was to be able to treat various medical conditions affecting spines without causing too much damage to surrounding organs. With this procedure, the surgeon is capable of seeing only the part where the problem is occurring in the spinal cord. Patients spend less time in hospitals, experience less bleeding, and recover faster due to the small incisions made.

Despite MISS being a relatively safe form of surgery, it exposes patients to certain risks. Generally, problems and risks which occur in other forms of surgeries are also witness with MISS. Examples of such risks are blood clot, nerve damage, recurring symptoms, pain, pseudarthrosis, infection, and bleeding. To manage infections antibiotics are administered to patients before, during and after the procedure is done.

In some patients the most occurring problem is normally pain as the graft site. Despite this, chances that this will happen are significantly reduced. Also, the symptoms felt prior to the surgery may also manifest themselves even after the operation has been done. Depending on the progress, the procedure may have to be repeated.




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