Both patients and surgeons are fortunate today that great strides have been made in making surgical procedures less traumatic to the body. Minimally invasive surgery, or surgery that isn’t as drastic in its intrusiveness to your body, offers a multitude of advantages as compared to traditional, or open surgery.
Dr. Benjamin Cohen is happy to offer minimally invasive spine surgical procedures to patients whose only choices previously were traditional methods. This is a great comfort to patients, and whenever possible, he opts for a minimally invasive procedure.
Six ways that these procedures make a patient’s post-surgical recovery period and beyond much better include:
Unlike traditional surgery, when performing minimally invasive surgery, Dr. Cohen needs to make only one or two very small incisions in order to gain access to the surgical site. Open surgery requires a larger incision to allow him to reach your spine.
The smaller incisions mean less blood loss during surgery, and barely noticeable scars following it.
Because your incisions are small, Dr. Cohen uses specially designed tools to perform minimally invasive surgery, including an operating microscope and an endoscope. These enable him to see your surgical site, in real time, without needing to cut through and move muscle and tissue, as in open surgery.
Whatever tool is used to view your surgical site, it’s equipped with a bright light and a camera that sends close-up images of your spinal tissues to a video screen. All the devices he uses to perform the surgery fit through the long, thin tubes that are inserted through your incisions for these purposes.
The tubes give Dr. Cohen the access he needs to your spine to perform the surgery, eliminating the need for a long incision.
Because your body undergoes less trauma with minimally invasive surgery as compared to open surgery, there’s less tissue that requires healing, and recovery is quicker.
There’s a risk for surgical site infection whenever incisions are made, but again because of smaller and fewer incisions, those who undergo minimally invasive procedures are less likely to deal with an infection, which is the #1 reason for patients readmission to the hospital after surgery.
Because incisions are so much smaller, obese individuals experience less risk for infection because a large amount of subcutaneous fat isn’t cut to make a large incision. The smaller incisions also mean that patients require less pain medication and management post-surgery — especially significant if you struggle with pain issues.
Less bed rest is required with minimally invasive surgery, so older people are at lower risk for developing dangerous clots in their legs.
Dr. Cohen uses minimally invasive techniques for diverse spinal problems and injuries:
These procedures, when done in a minimally invasive way, are either outpatient surgeries or only require hospital 1-2 days of hospitalization at most.
As you can see, the positives of minimally invasive surgery are compelling. By bypassing most of the problems associated with traditional surgery, you can return to doing your favorite things sooner.
Call our office to schedule an appointment so you can learn more about minimally invasive surgery and if you might be a candidate, or contact us through our website.
