The Advantages of Arthroscopic Spine Procedures

Until the turn of the century, people who had back injuries could choose between often ineffective medical treatments and potentially risky surgical treatments. Quite a few chose to live with the pain. In the past decade, spinal surgeons have begun to use minimally invasive arthroscopic spine procedures to treat back injuries, which have important advantages over traditional surgical treatment for back injuries.

Pain. People who have arthroscopic spine procedures have less post-operative pain and, in some cases, get better pain relief than with open surgery. Arthroscopic spine procedures can often reverse the pain from failed back surgery, too.

No general anesthesia. Arthroscopic spine procedures are done without anesthesia, avoiding the associated risks. This is especially important for high risk patients with lung or heart disease.

The patient is awake and communicative. Patients are sedated and sleepy, but easily arousable. They can participate by following directions and telling the surgeon when their pain is relieved.

There is less tissue trauma. Instead of cutting through muscles and other tissue around the spine, the surgeon nudges the tissue out of the way with the endoscope. That means there’s less pain, less damage to muscles, less scarring after surgery and less risk of bleeding or infection.

Shorter hospitalization. Arthroscopic spine procedures can usually be done as a day surgery. If hospitalization is required, it is much shorter than with open back surgery.

Faster recovery. Most people go home the same day and recover pretty quickly. Most can return to light activities within the first week. Complete recovery can take 6-8 weeks, as opposed to several months with surgery.

Direct microscopic imaging of the injured area. The surgeon has a much better view of the operative area and the view is magnified. It is not obscured by blood or other tissue.

Microsurgical capability. The surgeon can perform intricate procedures in very small areas. Instead of performing a laminectomy and removing the lamina, he can perform a laminotomy and delicately remove small slices of bone around the nerve root to relieve pressure.

Of course, there are some potential risks to arthroscopic spine procedures, too, although the risk is considerably smaller than with open surgery. Infection and bleeding can still occur. There can be complications from intravenous fluids or the medications used for sedation, and some people have muscle spasms for a few days after surgery.

Some spinal problems are not suitable for treatment with arthroscopic spine procedures and sometimes the patient and surgeon will have to determine whether it’s better to have one open surgery or multiple arthroscopic spine procedures.

We can expect the use of arthroscopic spine procedures to continue to increase as the technology improves and surgeons become even more proficient with using it.

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