The Future of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery.

Strong forces are pushing minimally invasive spinal surgery (MISS) to the forefront of spine care. Less-invasive surgical techniques have been enabled by a variety of technical advances. Despite the promise of MISS, however, several factors, including few training opportunities, perception of a steep learning curve, and high upfront costs, have limited the adoption of these techniques.

Challenges Hindering Widespread Adoption of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery.

Minimally invasive spinal surgery (MISS) techniques offer several beneficial prospects and are being increasingly requested by patients. However, these techniques have not been uniformly adopted by spinal surgeons, and they remain controversial among some. Several barriers have prevented widespread adoption of MISS.

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: An Overview.

Spinal surgery is undergoing a major transformation toward a minimally invasive paradigm. This shift is being driven by multiple factors, including the need to address spinal problems in an older and sicker population, as well as changes in patient preferences and reimbursement patterns. Increasingly, minimally invasive surgical techniques are being used in place of traditional open approaches due to significant advancements and implementation of intraoperative imaging and navigation technologies.

A systematic review of full endoscopic versus micro-endoscopic or open discectomy for lumbar disc herniation.

Endoscopic discectomies provide several advantages over other techniques such as traditional open lumbar discectomy (OLD) including possibly decreased complications, shorter hospital stay and an earlier return to work. An electronic database search including MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Controlled trials (CENTRAL) were reviewed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) only. A total of nine RCTs met inclusion criteria.