So You Have Back Pain

By Paymaun Lotfi, MD

No matter what causes your back pain, it can be excruciating. Several diagnoses include muscle strain, arthritis, or problems with discs and pinched nerves. Sometimes simple treatment with ant-inflammatory drugs, heat or ice, and rest can solve the problem.

However, not all at home remedies solve the problem and surgery is sometime necessary. Surgeons trained in minimally invasive techniques can make the surgery hospital stay shorter and at home recovery quicker. These surgeons utilize specially designed instruments to access the affected portion of the spine without making large incisions in the skin and muscle. Because there is less damage to the soft tissue and virtually no stripping of the muscle, you may have minimal scarring and less intra-operative blood loss, which are all benefits to you, the patient.

Minimally invasive surgery accomplishes the same goals of many traditional 'open' surgeries, and can be used to remove discs and fusions of the vertebrae, which is sometimes necessary to alleviate pain. Because the surgeon can use tubular dilators and retractors, the incisions can be smaller and the outcome can be the same as traditional spine surgeries.

For patients who require a fusion procedure, which is usually recommended if the spine is or may become unstable, minimally invasive techniques can be used to place a device between the lumbar (low back) vertebrae. This device may help restore the natural height of the disc space and act as a scaffold for bone growth, or 'fusion' between vertebrae.

So when seeking out help because of back pain, keep in mind that when a surgeon has exhausted all avenues of treatment to no avail and mentions surgery, it does not mean a long hospital stay or at home recovery.

Advanced techniques have led to shorter hospital stays, smaller incisions and scars, and a decreased need for postoperative medications to get you back on your feet and back to a healthy lifestyle.

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MISS) means

Shorter hospital stays.

Small incisions and scars.

Decreased intra-operative blood loss.

Decreased need for postoperative medications while in the hospital.