Colorado minimally invasive spine surgery is a procedure that uses tiny incisions to gain access to your spine to administer treatment for spinal issues with less retraction on your muscles and less dissection to the nearby tissues. Surgeons perform the treatment via the incisions through which they insert an endoscope or retractor. The tubular retractor holds your muscles open, and your doctor can use specialized equipment to conduct spinal fusion or remove disk materials or bone. The benefits of the surgical procedure include less damage to nearby tissues, less pain, short hospital stays, less blood loss, and less scarring. At LAMIS, our team’s concern is and has always been the total and complete recovery. That is why we can spend quality time getting to know you, our patient, and understand your health conditions and needs so we can help you improve your quality of life.
Things to Know about Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MISS)
MISS is a surgical procedure of your spinal bones. Unlike the traditional surgery, a MISS uses a smaller incision. Typically, this results in less harm to surrounding tissues and muscles, less pain, and quick recovery.
Neurosurgeons or orthopedic surgeons and qualified medical assistants perform MISS. The procedure’s details depend on what area of your spine requires treatment, among other factors. The surgeon should explain what happens during the treatment. Here is what you may expect:
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First, the doctor will administer anesthesia that numbs the specific area of the body. It will make you stay calm but awake during the surgical procedure.
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A physician will cautiously monitor crucial signs like blood pressure and heart rate throughout the procedure.
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Next, the healthcare provider will make a tiny incision on your back in the area requiring treatment. They will put a tubular retractor into the incision, exposing the part of your spine to be treated by gently pushing the nearby soft tissues and muscles aside. The surgeon can also put equipment through this tunnel.
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The physician will use a real-time X-ray, robotic guidance, an operating microscope, and a high-resolution camera during the surgery.
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Your doctor will make the necessary repairs to your spine,
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Finally, the healthcare provider will remove the retractor and tools, close the incision using staples or stitches, and put a bandage on the wound.
You can return home on the same day as your procedure. However, you can stay more nights if any of the following applies:
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You have comorbidities like history of blood clots or sleep apnea.
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You have had a complicated fusion surgical procedural.
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You are experiencing post-surgical complications.
Conditions Treated by Colorado Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Healthcare providers use MISS to treat the following health conditions:
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Degenerative disc disease— It happens when intervertebral facet joints or discs deteriorate and lose function.
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Spondylolisthesis — It is a mechanical spinal instability where the vertebrae slip forward, pressing on your spinal cord and causing pain in the legs, buttocks, and lower back.
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Spinal deformity conditions like kyphosis and scoliosis.
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Spinal fractures — The fractures can originate from traumatic injuries or degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis or osteoporosis.
Success Rate of MISS
Different people measure success following the surgical procedure in numerous ways. From a patient’s perspective, success could be pain relief, improvement in neurologic function, and return to specific daily activities. Other success measures include the following:
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Surgical wound recovery.
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Complete bony fusion.
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Level of correction of the spinal deformity.
Since every patient is unique, discussing the success rate with your doctor is wise.
Are There Restrictions After the Surgery?
After recovering from Colorado minimally invasive spine surgery, engaging in your daily activities has no restrictions.
You can start driving again after approximately three weeks. However, you should consult your physician for specific protocols and avoid driving for long hours.
How long it can take a patient to walk after the surgical procedure varies from one person to the other. Sometimes, it is on the same day after the surgical procedure under the physical therapist’s guidance and care. Depending on your need for walking aids before your treatment and your health condition, you might need walking aids, like walkers or canes, for the first weeks following the procedure.
After the procedure, your back will feel sore and stiff. You might have challenges standing or sitting in one position for long. It can take about six weeks to resume light activities. It will take six months to one year for your back to recover completely.
You can return to work after six weeks if your job does not need physical labor. On the other hand, if it involves heavy physical labor, you might need to find something less vigorous.
How to Take Care of Yourself After the Surgery
While patients' recovery varies with every individual, the following steps can help you heal faster.
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Rest as much as you can.
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Walk daily.
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You can eat your regular diet. If you experience stomach upsets, eat low-fat, bland foods like broiled chicken, yogurt, toast, and plain rice.
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Drink a lot of water unless your doctor advises you otherwise.
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If your bowel movement has changed since your Colorado minimally invasive spine surgery, avoid straining the bowel movements and constipation. Instead, consider taking fibre supplements.
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Take your medications as directed.
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Follow your doctor’s guidelines about taking care of the incision wound.
Signs You Need a MISS for Your Back Pain
Back pain does not always require surgery to relieve pain. Nevertheless, some signs could indicate it might be time for a medical evaluation to decide whether you qualify for surgery.
Your Back Pain Worsens and Interferes with Your Everyday Life
Back pain impacts most individuals at some point in life. Nevertheless, the root causes of the pain vary. For instance, it is expected to feel back or neck soreness after exercising or sleeping in the wrong posture, but the pain improves after days. In other cases, you might need pain relief treatment.
Typically, your doctor will help you avoid the surgical procedure at all costs by recommending the following conservative treatment methods:
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Steroid injections.
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Anti-inflammatory medication.
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Physical therapy.
Nonetheless, you can consider surgery if you experience chronic spine pain that affects your routine despite using conservative treatments.
You Feel Painful Sensations in Your Arms and Legs
Many patients can tell where their neck or back hurt. However, if you experience a pinched nerve in the neck or spine, the nerve can cause the pain to travel to the legs or arms, depending on the nerve. Your description of the pain can give clues to your physician about your health condition. The doctor can use diagnostic imaging to diagnose and treat the condition.
Your Legs are Numb or Experience Challenges Walking
Although most back pain causes are treated with “wait and see” approaches before surgical treatment, some conditions that cause weakness and affect your ability to walk require surgery treatment.
Since weakness or numbness can be related to other back health conditions, it is wise to receive thorough spinal evaluations to review all potential causes of the pain.
Ways To Support Healthy Bone Growth Following Colorado Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Following your spinal fusion surgical procedure, you will need to take measures to ensure you regain healthy bone growth and increase the success rate of the treatment. These things include the following:
Exercise Before Your Surgery
Make an effort to exercise to ensure you are in the best shape months before your surgery. Walking or moving about five to 10 minutes several times daily is better than nothing. Doing so in the buildup to your surgery will accelerate your recovery post-surgery.
Prepare For Post-surgery Restrictions
Following your Colorado minimally invasive spine surgery, you will require about weeks or even months for the surgical wound to heal. In this period, you should be careful to avoid activities that could increase the risk of surgical failure. These activities can include lifting stuff, bending in the surgical area, or twisting. You should also avoid physically demanding activities, like running, golfing, or vigorous sports.
Refrain From Smoking
If you are a smoker, you should quit smoking prior to your surgical procedure. You should also refrain from any nicotine intake, including smoking cigars or chewing tobacco. Nicotine hinders your bone cells from growing and the ability to generate enough cells to achieve a complete fusion in spinal fusion. You can learn from your surgeon about the benefits of halting smoking before your surgery and take measures to stop or lessen your nicotine intake.
Practice Appropriate Back Care
Following your surgery, ensure you exercise appropriate back care. Walking could prevent you from getting clots.
You should also work to ensure your spine is correctly aligned. You can achieve this by putting on brace mechanisms. While the braces might be uncomfortable, they will aid you in ensuring your vertebrae fuse well into one bone mass following a spinal fusion.
Finally, you should avoid engaging in vigorous exercises to prevent further issues.
Attend Physical Therapy (PT) Sessions
Going for physical therapy appointments following surgery is not something you might look forward to. Nevertheless, PT is crucial for long-term results; it can aid in minimizing fatigue, preventing potential future injuries, and restoring correct functioning. Your therapist will teach you ways to best manage the pain through appropriate positioning, electrical stimulation, or ice packs. Ensure you adhere to the therapist's instructions at home to increase the surgery’s success rate.
Various Types of MISS
Some of the different types of minimally invasive surgery include the following:
Discectomy Procedure
Discectomy is a surgical procedure that removes anything pressing on your spinal cord or nerve root as a result of bulging or herniated discs. Physicians use a discectomy to treat sciatica, bone spurs, nerve root pressure, or radiculopathy (radiating pain through your limbs).
During this Colorado minimally invasive spine surgery, your surgeon will utilize certain retractors and an endoscope or a microscope to conduct the extraction of the herniated disc. The surgical tools help the surgeon create little incisions that could result in a quicker recovery.
The surgery is performed through general anesthesia. It could take about one hour, and you could head home a few hours later.
Foraminotomy Surgery
Foraminotomy is a surgical process that enlarges the foramen (tunnel) in the back at the area where the nerve roots exit the spinal cord. The surgical procedure alleviates the signs of nerve root compression ( radiculopathy). The symptoms can include numbness, pain, muscle weakness, or tingling. The process does not require hospitalization.
Spinal Fusion
The spinal fusion procedure permanently joins at least two bones in your spine to ensure no friction between them.
To perform the procedure, your doctor will administer anesthesia and then make an incision. Next, the surgeon will use a graft to fuse or hold your vertebrae together. They can get the bone graft from any of the following:
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Another body part, usually the pelvic bone (It is known as autograft).
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Bone bank (It is known as allograft, which are bones extracted from other individuals that have been cleaned and preserved).
Finally, the surgeon will fix your vertebrae together using cages, plates, rods, or screws. The fixing keeps your vertebrae from moving into your bone graft and is fully recovered.
The surgical procedure takes three to four hours.
Corpectomy Surgery
A corpectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a section or the entire vertebra to relieve the pressure off your nerves and spinal cord. Generally, doctors use corpectomy to lessen pressure resulting from bone spurs, stenosis, fractures, spinal tumors, or infections in your neck (cervical), mid-back (neck), or lower back (lumbar spine).
The procedure involves removing the discs above and beneath your affected vertebra and the damaged structures' middle portion.
Find a Qualified and Skilled Surgeon Near Me
Surgeons stand at the forefront of Colorado minimally invasive spine surgery. The surgical technique can reduce the healing duration because the surgical incision is smaller than traditional open surgery and causes less damage to crucial soft tissues. At LAMIS, our comprehensive approach to spine care means offering world-class treatments and a team dedicated to delivering individualized spine care plans designed to suit your lifestyle goals and health needs. Our medical team can create your treatment strategy for optimal well-being and health if your spine condition needs surgical treatment or can be managed with conventional approaches. Please contact us at 310-734-6088 to book your appointment and learn whether you are eligible for the procedure.