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A one-stitch, Band-Aid outpatient
endoscopic surgical procedure for lumbar spine problems has been
performed at Mother Frances Hospital, one of 25 hospitals using
this new equipment.
"Micro endoscopic discectomy
is minimally invasive spinal surgery that will be especially
beneficial for cases involving a painful ruptured disc in the
lower back," Tyler neurosurgeon Guy O. Danielson III said.
"It offers new hope for
patients who suffer from sciatica, a painful, chronic back condition
that is characterized by shooting and recurrent pain in the lower
back that often radiates to the hips and legs," he said.
A ruptured disc is caused by
some type of injury or trauma. "The outer cover of the disc
is torn and the soft central portion, the soft-grisly part found
between the vertebrae, has been pushed out, adding pressure to
the spinal nerves and causing extreme pain," he said. Equipment
for endoscopic lumbar spine surgery has been difficult to develop
he said. "With previous minimal invasive low back surgery,
because the area is so small where we work, technology has not
been available for most cases. But with the recent developments
with improved optics, cameras and lighting, we have been able
to utilize this procedure in more cases.
He said the camera is connected
to a television monitor to allow the surgeon to watch what areas
he needs to cut, drill and remove parts of the vertebrae and
the disc.
"Well be able to perform
surgery on a much higher percentage of patients who suffer from
a rupture disc. To date, only 10 percent of these patients were
candidates for the older endoscopic surgery. With this new technology
and our improved techniques, 70 to 80 percent of these patients
will be candidates for this advanced surgical techniques,"
he said.
He said he performs about 150
surgeries on ruptured discs, and with this new procedure we should
be able to increase the number.
Danielson said compared to standard
open disc surgery, MED involves much less soft tissue dissection.
"Instead of incising the muscles and reflecting them from
the spine, as in standard surgery, with MED the muscles are separated
between their fibers, and, as the endoscope is removed, the separated
muscle fibers reapproximate."
Danielson says the new endoscope
system, which took more than three years to develop, is much
better, and has more applications than any endoscopic equipment
that has come before it, due to better optics and lighting.
"Since this is a less invasive
surgery where the incision is less than ½ inch, the patient
can recover more quickly. In fact, we've advanced to the point
that the only post-operative dressing necessary with this surgery
is one stitch and a Band-Aid, mostly on an outpatient basis,"
Danielson said.
He said this surgery generally
has less pain and helps the patient recover faster, thus returning
to work sooner in many cases.
Traditional disc surgery required
a 1 to 1 ½-inch incision, with hospital stays for one
to two days.
Danielson has been working with
the manufacturer, Sofamor Danek of Memphis for more than three
years in the design and development of endoscopes for use in
spine surgery.
Steven M. Foster, director of
Marketing for Sofamor Danek, said, "Dr. Danielson has been
very involved in the evolution of our endoscopic program, from
both a technological and clinical standpoint. He has provided
a great deal of feedback and has also helped train some of our
original surgeons in the new procedure."
This new endoscope is currently
available to only 25 hospitals where doctors have been trained,
but as this procedure is learned by other neurosurgeons, it is
expected to grow throughout the United States. Mother Frances
was among the first 10 hospitals using the technique due to Danielson
working with Sofamor Danek in the development stages.
Danielson said, "Thankfully,
we've created a better endoscope that has broader applications,
that will make less invasive spine surgery available to more
people. It will make a significant impact on how surgery is performed
in the future."
Neurosurgeon Charles R. Gordon
worked with Danielson on the project during development the past
three years. Two of the endoscopic surgical procedures have been
performed at Mother Frances, with a third one scheduled Monday. |