Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Specialist

What is Minimally Invasive Surgery?

In traditional open surgery, the doctor needs to make a large incision to get a better view of, and access to, the treatment area. With minimally invasive surgery, the doctors at South Texas Spinal Clinic make only small incisions through which they thread specialized instruments to perform the work.

What are the Advantages of Minimally Invasive Surgery?

There are many advantages to using minimally invasive surgical techniques over open surgery, including:

• Less risk of infection
• Less blood loss and tissue damage
• Faster healing time, which means less downtime
• Less post-surgical pain
• Minimal scarring

Which Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgeries are Offered?

While minimally invasive techniques are advantageous for surgery on most areas of your body, they are especially so when it comes to your spine. At South Texas Spinal Clinic, the doctors perform the following minimally invasive spinal surgeries:

• Anterior Cervical Fusion: This surgery is designed to relieve nerve pressure in your neck caused by a ruptured disc. During this procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision in the front of your neck and removes the compromised disc, replacing it with a plug of bone to fuse the two vertebrae.
• Anterior Cervical Discectomy: The surgeon makes a small incision in the front of your neck to remove only the part of the disc in your neck that’s putting pressure on your nerves.
• Lumbar Microdiscectomy: The doctors at South Texas Spinal Clinic turn to microendoscopic discectomy (MED) to remove a portion of the disc in your lumbar spine that’s ruptured, irritating the nerves in the area. The surgeon makes a small incision and uses an endoscope to view the surgical area. With a tiny instrument, he removes only the portion of your disc that’s causing the problem.
• Lumbar Laminectomy: In this procedure, the surgeon relieves the pressure on your nerve root(s) in your lower back by removing a portion of your lamina -- the back of your vertebra -- to access the source of your nerve compression. The source could be a bone spur, tumor, or herniated disc, among others.

While the doctors at South Texas Spinal Clinic use minimally invasive surgical techniques whenever possible, every surgery carries some degree of risk. The doctors sit down with you to thoroughly review your options, only turning to surgery when all other avenues have been exhausted in treating your spinal pain

To learn more about the minimally invasive surgical procedures at South Texas Spinal Clinic, call or use the online booking tool to schedule an appointment.