In-depth information and research on minimally invasive back surgery techniques for spine fusion surgery, kyphoplasty and microdiscectomy
Physical therapy after minimally invasive back surgery
August 17, 2007
When back surgery is minimally invasive, many people – especially those who experience a great deal of pain relief after the surgery – may think that postoperative physical therapy is unnecessary. But it is very important that muscle function is at its best after any back surgery, even if it’s minimally invasive surgery. Read
more...
By: Carol M. McFarland, MS, PT, OCS
Vertebroplasty
after a painful spine fracture
May 17, 2006
When the bones of the spine become weakened, usually due to osteoporosis, they can collapse and cause a compression fracture. Vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that may be considered to treat ongoing back pain from a spine fracture. Read more...
By: Huy M. Do, MD
Pain relief after a vertebral
compression fracture: Kyphoplasty case review
December 30, 2005
Osteoporosis-related spine fractures are fairly common, especially in people
over age seventy. When these fractures cause pain, a procedure called kyphoplasty
may be an option—but usually only within a few months after the fracture.
This article presents the case of a patient who had successful kyphoplasty solely
under local anesthesia. Read more...
By: Andrew P. Manista, MD and A. Jay Khanna, MD
Kyphoplasty for vertebral compression
fractures
June 1, 2005
Kyphoplasty is an elective surgery designed to achieve two main goals in patients
suffering from painful vertebral compression fractures: to reduce or eliminate
back pain; avoid an increase in spinal deformity; and restore spinal alignment,
thus improving the patient’s posture. Read
more...
By: Rafael Levin, MD
IDET: an alternative
to invasive surgery for chronic low back pain
November 30, 2004
Intradiscal Electrothermal Annuloplasty (IDET) is a minimally invasive treatment
for patients with chronic low back pain from certain types of degenerative disc
disease or a contained disc herniation. Read more...
By: Jonathon Lester, MD
Minimally invasive
anterior approach to spine surgery
October 22 2004
The anterior approach to spine surgery allows the surgeon to have direct access
to the degenerated disc without having to manipulate any nerve roots. Better
correction of the collapsed disc to its native height can also be achieved by
having a better leverage point to open the disc space. Read
more...
By: Mark Mikles, MD and Jeffrey A. Goldstein, MD
Update on
minimally invasive spinal fusion
February 23, 2004
There is some new evidence about spine fusion surgery performed in both the front
and back of the spine, and the use of a minimally invasive spinal fusion system
may sometimes be considered. Read more...
By: Rakesh Patel, MD and Jeffrey A. Goldstein, MD
Minimally
invasive spine fusion systems
February 11, 2004
In theory, any minimally invasive system should be able to perform the same fusion
as the traditional open technique, but through several smaller incisions instead
of one longer incision. This article reviews three minimally invasive spine fusion
systems currently in use. Read more...
By: Ali Araghi, DO
Vertebral fracture treated with kyphoplasty: case review
November 17, 2003
In this case it was decided to proceed with kyphoplasty, with the goal of alleviating
the patient's back pain and restoring the height of the vertebra so that the
patient would be able to stand upright. Read
more...
By: Jeffrey Spivak, MD
Vertebroplasty
and kyphoplasty: percutaneous injection procedures
for vertebral fractures
August 13, 2003
Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are minimally invasive procedures that may be
used in cases of severe pain caused by a vertebral fracture that does not improve
over a number of weeks with pain medication and bracing. Read
more...
By: Jeffrey M. Spivak, MD
Lumbar microdiscectomy
- overview
September 8, 1999 (updated March
30, 2001)
In a microdiscectomy, a small portion of the bone over
the nerve root and/or disc material from under the nerve
root is removed to relieve neural impingement and provide
more room for the nerve to heal. Read
more...
By: Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD
Research
update on IDET (Research article)
January 2, 2001
Two peer reviewed studies published in the October 2000
issue of SPINE Journal report on the outcomes of patients
having received Intradiscal Electrothermal Annuloplasty
(IDET) an average of one year after treatment. Read
more...
By: Ari Ben-Yishay, MD
Kyphoplasty—a
new treatment for osteoporotic fractures
(Research article)
July 7, 2000 (last updated August
14, 2003)
Kyphoplasty, a new procedure for treating osteoporotic
fractures, is designed to restore height to the bone
thus reducing deformity of the spine. Read
more...
By: Courtney W. Brown, MD and Douglas C. Wong, MD
Intradiscal
Electrothermal Therapy (IDET) (Research
article)
April 18, 2000
IDET is a new, minimally invasive outpatient surgical
procedure to treat patients with chronic low back pain
caused by tears or small herniations of their lumbar
discs. Read
more...
By: Ari Ben-Yishay, MD
Back-to-Back: Artificial discs and disc replacement surgery
In this section, patients share their advice and experiences with artificial discs, clinical trials and recovery from disc replacement surgery. Be sure to submit your own response as a resource for other patients considering artificial discs versus spine fusion! Read more...
New advancement in back care- Spine-health.com Newsletter
Recently there has been a great deal of media coverage about the potential upsides of the artificial disc and disc replacement surgery, as well as new developments for other types of spine surgery. This newsletter highlights new surgical techniques (including artificial discs and IDET) to help patients decide on the best treatment options for their back problems. Read more…
New advancements in spine surgery—Spine-health.com
Newsletter
Several important new spine surgery technologies are
in various stages of development and you may want to
consider these when making any decision about your
treatment options. As with anything new in spine surgery,
most of the information on the following developments
remains theoretical, and longer term studies and follow-up
are needed to fully understand the potential risks
and benefits of each procedure. Read more...
