Microscopic nerve decompression widens a narrowed spinal canal through a small incision to relieve spinal stenosis.
About 1 hour
3cm
Local orgeneral anesthesia
The next day
Discharge after 5 days
Day after stitch removal
This surgery treats spinal stenosis, a condition in which the spinal canal, the passage for the spinal nerves, narrows and presses on the nerves inside. Using a surgical microscope, the surgeon looks directly at the narrowed area and widens the compressed or narrowed canal.
Unlike conventional surgery, which removed bone from both sides of the back of the spine, took out the bone pressing on the nerves and then fixed the spine with screws, this procedure uses a minimal incision of about 2 cm to partially remove only the protruding bone and ligament causing the compression. There is almost no damage to the back muscles and recovery is fast, making it especially suitable for older patients who are physically frail and prone to complications.
Under local anesthesia, a 1.5–2 cm opening is made at the back of the spine and a special surgical microscope is inserted.
Through the microscope, the affected area can be seen directly without removing the lamina (the arch of bone at the back of the vertebra).
Precise instruments remove the bone pressing on the spinal nerve or scrape away ligament to relieve the compression.
