Types of Spine Surgery
The Different Parts of the Spine
There are three parts to the spine: cervical, thoracic, and lumbar. These parts roughly correspond to the part of the spine in the neck, at the rib cage, and below the rib cage, respectively.
The cervical spine can be approached surgically from the front of the neck (anterior) or from the back (posterior). The thoracic spine is normally approached from the back and less commonly, the side (lateral). The lumbar spine can be approached from the front, side, or back.
The Different Types of Spine Surgery
Besides approaches to the spine, there are types of surgery based on the amount of muscle moved aside to access the spine. These are open, minimally invasive (MIS), and endoscopic surgery.
Open surgery involves dissecting muscle off the spine while MIS approaches work mostly through the muscle using specific tubes or retractors without disrupting connections to the spine. Endoscopic spine surgery uses a small port and camera to work through the muscle similarly to MIS surgery, but with a smaller diameter tube and under continuous irrigation.
Which Type of Spine Surgery Is Best?
One type of approach or surgery is not necessarily better than another and overall outcomes are often the same. In general, open approaches have a longer recovery than MIS or endoscopic approaches.