Micro Endoscopic Discectomy (in the Lumbar Spine)

This surgery treats a bulging or herniated disc in your lower back. It gets rid of the tissue that presses on your spinal nerves. And it's done without a large incision.

To begin, you are anesthetized. The surgeon makes a small opening in your skin. With the help of a fluoroscope (a video x-ray device), a guide wire is pushed through the opening and to your spine. Then, the surgeon enlarges the opening around the guide wire to make a working channel. The whole surgery is done through this channel. Using a camera (or microscope) and tiny instruments, the surgeon makes an opening to reach your spinal canal. The bulging disc tissue is cleared away. This makes more room for your spinal nerves. It gets rid of the pressure. When the surgery is done, your skin is closed with a small bandage. You are watched for a brief time as you wake up. Follow your surgeons instructions as you recover.

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Q & A

What is minimally invasive spinal surgery?

Spine surgery is minimally invasive when your provider performs the procedure through two very small incisions rather than one large, open incision.

During minimally invasive spine surgery, your University Pain and Spine Center physician uses cutting-edge surgical instruments contained in narrow tubes that fit through the small incisions. 

One of the instruments, an endoscope, contains lighting and a camera that sends magnified images to a monitor. Your physician performs your surgery by manipulating surgical instruments from outside your body while viewing the monitor.

What spine procedures do doctors perform with minimally invasive surgery?

The team at the University Pain and Spine Center performs minimally invasive procedures such as:

• Cervical discectomy and microdiscectomy
• Lumbar discectomy and microdiscectomy
• Percutaneous laser discectomy
• Foraminotomy
• Kyphoplasty (balloon vertebroplasty)
• Radiofrequency neurotomy
• Surgical implantation of spinal cord stimulators
• Surgical implantation of intrathecal pumps
• Spinal fusion surgery
• Artificial disc replacement
• Vertiflex® Superion® Indirect Decompression System

Many back and neck conditions are treated with these procedures, including a herniated disc, compressed spinal nerves, degenerative disc disease, kyphosis, and failed back surgery. With vertebrae repair, you also get relief from chronic pain conditions in your arms and legs.

What are the benefits of minimally invasive spinal surgery?

During traditional open surgery, the doctor makes one long incision that cuts through all the skin and underlying muscles. Then the tissues are pulled apart to create a large opening that reveals your spine. Open surgery causes a significant amount of trauma compared to the small incisions used during a minimally invasive procedure.

When you have minimally invasive spinal surgery, your muscles aren’t cut. Your University Pain and Spine Center physician inserts a narrow retractor between the muscle fibers, then gently stretches them just enough to accommodate the surgical instruments.

After they remove the retractor, the muscles naturally return to their normal position. Your muscles don’t need a prolonged time to heal, and you recover more quickly.

Minimally invasive spine surgery provides benefits such as:

• Less bleeding during surgery
• Reduced pain after surgery
• Lower risk of complications
• Minimal scarring
• Faster return to normal activities

In many cases, minimally invasive spine surgery is an outpatient procedure, so you can go home the same day. 

To learn more about minimally in