Minimally Invasive Surgery Specialist

Illinois Spine & Scoliosis Center

Spine Surgeons & Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation located in Homer Glen, IL & Woodridge, IL

Whether your back and neck pain hasn’t improved with non-surgical treatments or a doctor has already recommended spine surgery, you owe it to yourself to learn about minimally invasive surgery. The board-certified spine surgeons at Illinois Spine and Scoliosis Center specialize in easing pain and restoring your spine health with minimally invasive techniques. To learn if you're a good candidate for surgery that causes less pain, often lets you go home the same day, and promotes faster recovery, call the office in Homer Glen or Woodridge, Illinois, or request an appointment online today.

Minimally Invasive Surgery Q & A

What is minimally invasive surgery?

Minimally invasive surgery differs from open surgery in two important ways:

Small incision size

Your provider at Illinois Spine and Scoliosis Center makes a small incision when performing minimally invasive spine surgery. In some cases, the incision only needs to accommodate instruments the size of a pencil. Even when you need a larger incision, it's still significantly smaller than open surgery.

You can have minimally invasive spine surgery thanks to advanced minimal access spinal technologies (MAST). MAST includes a wide range of specialized surgical instruments (designed to fit through tiny incisions), as well as devices like endoscopes.

Endoscopes, which are about the width of a pencil, contain fiber-optic video cameras and lighting. The scope gives your provider an enhanced view of the surgical site without requiring a big incision.

Less tissue damage

Your provider doesn’t cut through muscles and other supporting tissues. Instead, they either push them aside or use a tubular dilator. They guide the dilator between muscle fibers and gently separate them.

By comparison, surgeons performing open surgery cut through all the tissues. Then they retract (pull back) the tissues so their hands can reach your spine.

What are the advantages of minimally invasive surgery?

Since minimally invasive spine surgery causes less tissue damage, it offers benefits you can't get with open surgery, such as:

Less post-op pain
Reduced blood loss
Minimal scarring
Lower risk of infection
Faster healing
Quicker recovery and return to activities

Another great advantage is that your provider often performs minimally invasive spine surgery on an outpatient basis.

When would I need minimally invasive surgery?

Most spine conditions that once required open surgery can now use minimally invasive techniques. They include:

Herniated discs
Degenerative disc disease
Lumbar spinal stenosis
Scoliosis
Sciatica
Compression fractures
Spinal tumors
Spinal infections
Spinal instability
Radiculopathy (pinched spinal nerves)

Though most people can have minimally invasive surgery, some people may have an underlying condition that requires open surgery.

What minimally invasive surgery procedures might I need?

Illinois Spine and Scoliosis Center has extensive experience performing minimally invasive surgeries, including:

Discectomy
Microdiscectomy
Spinal fusion
Artificial disc replacement
Nerve decompression
Laminectomy
Laminotomy
Laminoplasty
Foraminotomy
Kyphoplasty
Scoliosis correction
Vertebral body resection
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
Direct lateral interbody fusion
Posterior lumbar interbody fusion
Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion
Posterior spinal instrumented fusion

To learn more about the benefits of minimally invasive surgery, call Illinois Spine and Scoliosis Center or book an appointment online today.

What we offer