Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery PDF

Preface

The field of spinal surgery has borne witness to unprecedented advancements in technology. Among the most exciting has been the development of minimally invasive surgery. It has been promoted under numerous descriptors, such as "minimal access" and "less invasive" and utilizes various visualization techniques, such as endoscopy, tubular retractors, and image-guidance.

Minimally invasive spine surgery has sought to achieve the same surgical goals as standard open surgery while minimizing associated morbidity and recovery times. Increasing numbers of reports of "success" at specialized centers by experienced surgeons have spawned interest within the spine surgical community in general. However, the path to "success" must be carefully appreciated. Many minimally invasive techniques have slow learning curves that require substantially more time than their open equivalents, particularly at the outset of a surgeon's experience. As instruments and access systems continually improve, what is available today is easier to use than what was available yesterday and potentially more difficult to maneuver than what will be available tomorrow. Ultimately, these successive improvements will bring minimally invasive surgery to a level that a general spine surgeon can easily learn and use expeditiously to achieve good results.

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery offers a comprehensive and up-to-date source for surgeons interested in performing minimal access spinal surgery. The text includes detailed descriptions of a wide array of minimally invasive techniques. To better aid the reader in using this timely work, the chapters are divided into comprehensive sections according to the treatment goal: decompression, stabilization and fusion, percutaneous pain-relieving procedures, and non-fusion/motion-sparing techniques. Going beyond a pure technique-oriented book, each of the chapters includes a discussion of indications, imaging, setup, complications, and clinical outcomes of the individual procedures.

The reader will also quickly appreciate the unique organization of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. The opening section is intended to develop a grounded framework within which these surgical techniques can be better analyzed and understood. Beyond an excellent discussion on anatomical approaches, other chapters discuss an evidence-based review of minimally invasive surgery, classification of minimally invasive spine surgery techniques, appropriate patient selection, and the future direction of these surgical techniques and technology. Whether planning an endoscopic discectomy or percutaneous pedicle screw insertion, spinal surgeons must have a comprehensive understanding of the indications, technical execution, limitations, and bailouts of these minimally invasive procedures. It is the editors' hope to provide this important information for a broad range of conditions and techniques. Thoughtful consideration of these issues can help surgeons safely and effectively adopt minimally invasive spine surgery into their everyday practices.