Minimally Inasive Treatment
Only 10 years ago, if you had spine surgery, you could expect it to take as much as one year before you would be able return to normal activities. Minimally invasive techniques, however, are changing the face of spine surgery. What used to result in a week-long hospital stay, a year’s recovery period and a large scar has been diminished to a few days, a few months and a few small scars.
Conventional spine surgery requires a long incision and a lengthy recovery period. Minimally invasive surgery, also known as “keyhole” surgery, uses a thin, telescope-like instrument known as an endoscope, which is inserted through small incisions. The endoscope is connected to a tiny video camera - smaller than a dime - which projects an “inside” view of the patient’s body onto television screens in the operating room.