Endoscopic spine surgery

The scar is the least of it. Minimal invasion is not a smaller incision: it is solving the problem with the same guarantees while harming as little healthy muscle, ligament and bone as possible. Here we enter through the foramen, the opening the nerve root already uses, so the canal does not have to be opened artificially. If a smaller incision worsened the outcome, it would not be less invasive, only more cosmetic.

In most cases that is not needed: it is done under local anaesthesia or sedation, as a day case. The final decision is taken with the anaesthetist and with you, depending on the level to be treated, the type of herniation and your general situation.

No, and it is worth knowing that before asking for it by name. Its clearest ground is foraminal and extraforaminal lumbar herniations — those at the exit of the root or just outside it — and foraminal stenosis. Herniations inside the canal can also be treated, but only in selected cases. If yours does not fit, there are other routes equally respectful of stability.

Scope-assisted systems allow small approaches to the thoracic spine that avoid a thoracotomy, that is, opening the chest. It is a specific field and is assessed case by case; it is not the answer for every thoracic lesion.