01
July
2019
|
13:46 PM
America/New_York

HSS Expert Explains Advances In Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Daily Voice Bronxville features a bylined article by Sravisht Iyer, MD, spine surgeon at HSS, on the advances in minimally invasive spine surgery.

Dr. Iyer wrote minimally invasive spine surgery refers to techniques that rely on the use of muscle-sparing approaches to the spine from a number of different positions: from the front of the spine (anterior), from the side or flank (lateral) or from the back (posterior). The exact approach is determined by a surgeon and is dependent on factors including age, spine alignment, the anatomy of the nerves and blood vessels, and symptoms. In most cases, access to the spine is established by using a series of dilators that split the muscle to create a working portal. The size of this portal varies based on the surgeon and the pathology being addressed; however, it is now possible to perform surgeries through portals as small as 1.2cm (about a half an inch). If the surgeon believes the spine needs to be instrumented (have screws and rods put in), this can also be performed through small incisions with the assistance of intra-operative x-rays, CT scans or robotic guidance.

Dr. Iyer concluded when the advances in technology are paired with improvements in anesthesia and with multimodal pain medicine (non-opioid medicines to treat multiple pain pathways), they can significantly reduce post-operative pain levels and allow patients to return home on the same day of surgery in most cases.

Read the full article at DailyVoice.com.