Many people suffer from spinal instability in their spinal or vertebrae joints due to past injuries or illnesses. Others experience chronic back pain due to nerve damage and irritation in their spine. Your back can affect your everyday life, forcing you to see a specialist. While most doctors do not recommend surgery as the first course of action, some conditions like herniated or ruptured disks require surgical intervention. Knowing you need spine surgery is not the most pleasant news because of the risks involved. You could end up with chronic pains, compromised stability, and a lengthy recovery period. However, thanks to advances in modern medicine, doctors can perform minimally invasive spine surgery with lower risks of post-surgical complications. This second part of the article will explain some of the benefits.
It is Less Painful
A significant complication with spine injury is chronic pain during the recovery phase. Many patients experience pain long after the surgery and require strong pain killers to manage the painful sensation. Such people cannot work, go to school, or do daily living activities without making compromises. For that reason, many specialists recommend minimally invasive spine surgery instead of open surgery. Patients who go through this procedure will likely experience a less problematic recovery. Furthermore, they are less likely to depend on intense painkillers such as morphine and OxyContin.
It is Cosmetically Appealing
In addition to the medicinal benefits of minimally invasive surgery, some cosmetic considerations also come into play. Traditional surgeries are often associated with huge scars on the operation area. More often than not, these scars act as a reminder of your traumatic experience and do not help with the healing process. Some of these scars never disappear, and patients live with them for the rest of their lives. If you are afraid of getting multiple scars on your back, you should consider minimally invasive spine surgery. The doctor makes tiny incisions, resulting in minimal scarring.
It is Less Traumatic
While performing open spinal surgery, the surgeon clears a good amount of tissue and muscles out of the way. More often than not, this procedure stretches your muscles, and they may take time to heal. The incisions also damage soft tissue, resulting in intense post-surgical pain. On the other hand, minimally invasive spine surgery requires a small working field. With the help of an endoscope, your surgeon can work on the problem through a small incision. They will not have to pull back muscle or tissue from your spine to clear the area. Thus, patients may select this procedure in preference to open spinal surgery.
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