Guide to Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery in India

Did you know spine surgery can also be done by minimally invasive techniques with the same effectiveness but smaller cuts and smaller recovery time? 

Minimally invasive surgery uses smaller surgical incisions, and it’s generally less risky than traditional surgery. This advancement of technology helps many people to get rid of severe back pain and tumors without long healing periods.

Minimally invasive spine surgery done by a well-trained spine surgeon at a well-equipped center ensures 

1. Less trauma to the muscles, nerves, and tissues
2. Less bleeding, 
3. Less pain,
4. Reduced risk of infection.
5. Smaller recovery time and reduced post-surgery hospitalization. 

Let’s understand from the experience of Hussien, from Lusaka, Zambia. 

Hussien is a 42-year-old owner of a car showroom. Hussien has a son, a daughter, and a wonderful wife. 

Hussein struggled for almost 10 years with spine pain. Hussien visited many doctors and took medicines and physiotherapy to get relief from the pain. But the condition got worse with time. One night Hussein got unbearable pain and he was admitted to the hospital. 

The doctor did the MRI and the results indicated that his sciatic nerve was severely damaged, resulting in significant pain. Hussein was also having some neurological symptoms such as loss of sensation in both the legs and in bladder function. Hussien also consulted a neurologist regarding his issue and the neurologist suggested him to undergo surgery. 

Hussien’s son Rehman was very concerned about his father’s health and started researching for spine surgery which is both advanced and reasonably priced on the internet. Rehman’s research came to the conclusion that India is the best option as per his budget with results as good as in any developed country.

Rehman left the inquiry on the MedicoExperts website and the MedicoExperts team contacted Rehman and arranged the online video consultation with one of the most experienced spine surgeons from its panel. The doctor recommended and explained the minimally invasive surgical approach to Rehman and Hussien. He also cleared all the doubts regarding the surgery. After understanding the treatment protocol, Hussien decided to come to India for the treatment.

After 10 days, Hussein along with his son Rehman came to India for the treatment. Hussien got admitted to the hospital and evaluation tests were performed to check the current condition. As, there was no further deterioration, the spine surgeon performed the L4-L5 minimally invasive spine fusion surgery.

The surgery was successful and Hussein was discharged in 3 days from the hospital.

Husein was extremely pleased with the surgery and thanked the doctors and MedicoExperts team.

After a week, Hussien was not only relieved from back pain but also regained strength in his legs and bladder function. 

After a month, Hussien started walking without any pain,  He was happy to walk again. 

You can also get back to your active life after minimally invasive spine surgery with quick recovery, small cuts, and perfect results. What you need is the right combination of well-trained and experienced minimally invasive spine surgeons, a center that is well equipped and has well trained post-operative care team.

Before going into the details of minimally invasive spine surgery, let’s first understand what spine surgery is.

Spine surgery is a surgical procedure, mostly performed as the last retort to cure back pain. Typically, your doctor might wait for about 3-6 months for the back pain to subside before suggesting a spine surgery. 

Earlier, spine surgery was executed as open surgery. During open spine surgery, the surgeon made a long incision to view and access the spine. However, with advancements in technology spine conditions can now be treated with minimally invasive techniques.

During the minimally invasive spine surgery, the surgeon doesn’t make any long incisions thereby minimizing the damage to nearby tissues. Also, the operating time gets reduced considerably with a faster recovery.

Although minimally invasive surgery has faster recovery with minimal damage not all patients are appropriate candidates for these procedures.

Have you ever wondered why your doctor suggested spine surgery for you? Your doctor might have suggested spine surgery to help you get rid of the stubborn back pain when all other symptomatic treatment options failed to deliver the desired results. 

The common indications for spinal surgery are:

Back pain is not easy to live with. Sometimes the pain can be unbearable but with proper treatment, your doctor can help you manage the pain. 

Managing back pain can sometimes be more difficult than we usually assume. Initially, your doctor may prescribe medicines or exercises or physiotherapy, or a combination of medicines and exercises to manage back pain. However, in some people, the pain is difficult to manage. For them, your doctors suggest spine surgery.  

The surgery can be open spine surgery or minimally invasive spinal surgery. Before discussing the different types of surgery let us understand the difference between open spinal surgery and minimally invasive spinal surgery.

Irrespective of the type of surgery, your doctor needs to access your spine from different directions. The different ways through which your doctor checks your spine is called a surgical approach. Mainly there are three surgical approaches:

• Anterior approach: During this type of surgical approach the surgeon accesses your spine from the front of your body, ie through the abdomen.
• Posterior approach: During the posterior surgical approach your doctor makes an incision in your back.
• Lateral approach: This surgical approach helps your doctor get the pathway to your spine through the sides.

Doctors these days use computer-assisted image guidance that allows them to view the operation site with much more clarity than traditional visualization techniques. 

The attenuated clarity to view the operation site eases the doctor to ensure proper positioning of the implants that need to be inserted with a greater degree of accuracy.

During the computer-assisted image guidance, the doctor superimposes the images taken of the spine preoperatively (before surgery) with the images taken during the surgery. This technique helps your doctor to get a real-time view of the anatomical position and orientation of the operation site.