Standard minimally invasive spine surgery uses incisions and dilators to access the spine with reduced muscle damage compared to open surgery. Endoscopic techniques go further - using a thin telescope with a camera, the disc or spinal canal can be accessed through incisions sometimes under a centimetre. I completed specific training in bi-portal endoscopy at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, and for appropriately selected cases, endoscopic surgery offers outstanding results with the fastest recovery of any surgical approach to spinal decompression. The best candidates are patients with single-level disc herniations causing sciatica or radiculopathy that has not responded to conservative care, and certain stenosis presentations. Complex multilevel disease or deformity requiring stabilisation is not suited to endoscopic techniques.
Written by Dr. Nirdesh H J, MBBS (Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute), MS Orthopaedics (Ramaiah Medical College), DNB Orthopaedics (National Board of Education), FNB Spine Surgery (Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi), AO Spine Asia Pacific Fellowship (Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, under Dr. Arvind Kulkarni), AO Spine International Fellowship (Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea, under Prof. Yong Chan Kim), Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (Germany), Consultant Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, SPARSH Hospital, HBR Layout, Hennur Road, Bengaluru 560043. Phone: +91 6363626242.
