Defining Minimally Invasive

All minimally invasive procedures are not created equal

Spend any time researching modern treatments for back care and you will see the phrase "minimally invasive" very frequently.  Clearly, minimally invasive spine procedures are less traumatic than open back surgery and offer faster recovery times in general.  Less clear, however, are the distinctions between the various procedures discussed in various sites online.

The term "minimally invasive" is generally used to denote procedures requiring an incision of less than 1.5cm (just over 1/2").  Other commonly used terms are laparoscopic surgery, or band-aid surgery.  These procedures require small incisions but cause various degrees of tissue damage below the surface of the skin. In addition, so-called "minimally invasive" surgeries that enter through the back only allow the surgeon access to one level of the spine per procedure.  If, as frequently occurs, the patient's MRI indicates a problem at the wrong level, the patient will not experience relief from their pain and will require another surgery.

For example, one common endoscopic back surgery technique requires that tubes of gradually increasing diameters be inserted through the back reaching all the way to the vertebra.  Using the tubes for access, the surgeon removes part of the bone (the lamina) to access the spinal canal.  While less invasive than open back surgery, this approach is clearly traumatic and weakens the support structure of the spine.

The AccuraScope procedure utilizes a natural opening at the base of your spine to access the spinal canal.  In addition to being less traumatic, this approach allows the physician to guide instruments along the length of the lumbar spine, diagnosing and treating problems in real time.  North American Spine offers the least invasive surgery available, and the only one that can treat multiple levels with a single procedure.