Traditional open spine surgery involves cutting muscles or reflecting them off the spine in order to perform surgery. Today, Dr. Stieber can often perform spinal surgery utilizing minimally-invasive surgical techniques. Treatment often involves small incisions and muscle dilation, allowing Dr. Stieber to gently separate the muscles surrounding the spine rather than cutting them. In other cases, muscles are avoided nearly altogether by employing techniques that utilize the body’s natural tissue planes. These minimally-invasive procedures typically permit enhanced cosmetic appearance of incisions, shorter hospital stays, and faster return to work and activity. Many MIS procedures are performed on an outpatient basis.
Advantages
Potential advantages of minimally invasive spine surgery include:
- Reduced operative time
- Less soft tissue damage due to reduced muscle retraction
- Reduced blood loss
- Surgical incisions are less painful and heal faster
- Recovery is faster with less postoperative pain
- Shorter hospital stay
- Scars are cosmetically more pleasing
Our Use of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MIS)
Several MIS procedures we perform include:
- Endoscopic Discectomy
- Microscopic Tubular Discectomy
- Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF)
- Trans Foraminal Interbody Fusion (TLIF)
- Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF)
- Percutaneous posterior instrumentation
- Deformity correction (Scoliosis / Kyphosis)
- Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty
- Others
Conclusion
Our primary goal is to provide our patients with the very best spine care experience. Dr. Stieber is an innovator in the field of MIS spine surgery and lectures on the topic. By incorporating the most current MIS techniques, Dr. Stieber is able to treat a wide range of spinal problems, restore functioning, and return his patients to activity as soon as possible.