Open Or Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: Which One Is Better For You?
If you recently injured your spine, the pain and suffering you experience may be unbearable for you right now. Your physician may ask you to undergo open spine surgery to repair your injury. But if you don't want to spend a lot of time in the operating room or recovery room, you may choose to live with your pain. You can choose to repair your injury with minimally invasive spine surgery instead. Learn why minimally invasive spine surgery may be best option for you below.
Is Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Better for You?
In the past, doctors and surgeons relied on open spine surgery to repair damage in the spinal area or back. However, open spine surgery required patients to spend a significant amount of time in the operating room. Minimally invasive spine surgery shortens the amount of time doctors spend on accessing and repairing tissues of the spine.
During open spine surgery, a physician must slowly and manually cut through multiple layers of muscles, tendons, and ligaments to access the bones in your spine. The incised tissues can easily become damaged or scarred during surgery.
During minimally invasive spine surgery, a surgeon uses special surgical instruments to make one or two tiny incisions over the surgical site. The small incisions allow the surgeon to access only the tissues in your spine that require treatment. Most of the tissues surrounding the surgical site remain intact or undamaged.
Along with the benefits above, minimally invasive spine surgery can prevent other problems that may occur during treatment, including pain and infection.
Are There Other Things to Know About Surgery?
If you're concerned about pain during and after your surgery, don't be. Most people who undergo minimally invasive spine surgery don't need to take pain medications for long periods of time. In most cases, the pain you experience after surgery only last for a few days or so before it subsides. If you do experience pain that doesn't subside within a reasonable time period, tell your surgeon or doctor right away.
Your recovery time may also be smaller after minimally invasive surgery. Unless you require extensive recovery in a rehabilitation program for something else, your surgeon may release you from the surgical site several days after your surgery. A surgeon or doctor will check your incision site to see if it's healing properly before they release you. A physician may ask you to return to the site for a follow up appointment some time later on.
If you think minimally invasive spine surgery is a good way to overcome your injury and pain, contact a medical provider today.
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