If you compete in a sport or exercise long enough, the odds are you will eventually endure back discomfort. Whether it’s distance running, golf, weightlifting, or standing and lifting at work, back pain can sidetrack you from staying in shape and reaching your goals. Pain, weakness, and numbness may often be the result of disc problems in your spine.
A revolutionary type of minimally invasive spine surgery offered at Campbell Clinic is benefiting patients around the Mid-South who suffer from these problems.
Endoscopic spine surgery is a new procedure that allows a surgeon to access a herniated disc through a series of small ports placed in an incision smaller than what would be necessary for a traditional approach. Through these ports, a physician uses small tools to cut and extract problematic tissue. By using this technique, a surgeon can visualize the damaged part of your spine while disrupting less tissue during surgery, allowing you to recover quickly and get back to the things you love.
As with any procedure performed on a same-day, outpatient basis, endoscopic spine surgery has a host of clinical benefits for the patient.
Those include:
- A much smaller incision than normal, resulting in fewer limitations after surgery
- Limited amount of blood loss compared to lengthier, in-patient procedures
- Better management of pain before, during, and after the surgery
- Preservation of spinal mobility
- Significantly lower risk of surgical complications
- Less disruption of surrounding muscle and tissue
- A faster return to exercise and work
- And of course, the convenience of same-day surgery!
During the procedure, patients are consciously sedated to ensure comfort and to assist the surgeon with guidance around local nerve tissue based on immediate sensation. After the surgery, low-dosage medication is administered to aid in pain control and eliminate any memory of the procedure.
While not all patients are candidates for outpatient surgery, many are eligible to have same-day surgery so that they may recover in the privacy and comfort of their own home. Despite the normal soreness associated with surgery, patients typically report immediate relief post-operatively from the symptoms associated with herniated discs such as weakness, numbness, incontinence, and pain.
Dr. Ray Gardocki is a spine surgeon at Campbell Clinic Spine Center in Cordova. He is the first and only physician in the region to be trained in the endoscopic spine approach. For more information about endoscopic spine surgery, or to schedule an appointment, call 901.507.7656.
