Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery(MISS)
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery(MISS)
Minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) is occasionally called less invasive spine surgery; here the surgeon utilises specialised tools to get the spine through small incisions. This technique uses modern technology to decrease tissue injury, bleeding, hospital stay, and recovery by reducing the total size of the incision.
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery is truly a revolutionary technique in spine surgery, where routine surgeries are performed using ‘keyholes’. Over the last decade, with the advent of high magnification and illumination provided by microscopes and endoscopes, advances in spine instruments, and developments in implant technology, surgeons have realised that they can achieve the same goals of conventional techniques—decompression and stabilisation—efficiently without inflicting much damage and with extreme precision and safety.
It has been known that we have to dissect the muscles from their origins and remove the stabilising ligaments using open techniques. This increases the morbidity of surgery, causing muscle weakness and postoperative pain. Any procedure that reduces this damage is a Minimally Invasive Technique. The principle of this ‘Micro-Endoscopic’ technique is to use a muscle splitting approach using a series of tubes through the key holes.
Some of the proven benefits are as follows:
- Better cosmetic results from ‘key hole’ incisions
- Less blood loss from surgery
- Reduced risk of muscle damage since muscle sparing techniques
- Less postoperative pain
- Faster recovery from surgery and less rehabilitation are required.
- Reduced dependence on pain medications after surgery
- Decreased infection rates
Why might I need minimally invasive spine surgery?
- Herniated disc
- Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
- Spinal deformities (like scoliosis)
- Spinal instability
- Spondylolysis (a defect in a part of the lower vertebrae)
- Fractured vertebra
- Removal of a tumour in the spine
- Infection in the spine