Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery in Edison, NJ

Spine surgery is an advanced medical procedure performed on your spinal column to rectify an ailment or deformity. Surgery may be required on any one part of the spine or on multiple locations, depending on your situation. The primary purpose of endoscopic spine surgery is to alleviate pain and restore your mobility.

Premier Brain & Spine team of fellowship-trained, board-certified orthopedic and neurosurgeons specializes in advanced spine care. Their expertise encompasses both open and minimally invasive spine surgeries, including endoscopic and laser techniques, to treat conditions such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, and many others.

Dr. Wells-Roth is a board-certified neurosurgeon with extensive fellowship training in interventional neuroradiology and skull-based neurovascular surgery. He also completed advanced training in oncologic surgery of the brain and spine at Memorial Sloan Kettering. His clinical focus includes complex spinal instrumentation and minimally invasive spinal surgery.

Dr. Singh is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with expertise in brain and spine surgery. He is recognized for his proficiency in minimally invasive spine procedures and has been honored as a “Top Doctor” by New Jersey Monthly.

Dr. Greenberg is a board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon, known for his commitment to patient-oriented care. Dr. Aaron Greenberg uses advanced techniques, including motion-sparing technology. Dr. Greenberg has been honored by Top Doctors New York Metro Area, New York Magazine: Top Doctors, Jersey’s Best – Top Orthopedic Doctors, and Jersey’s Best Magazine Top Doctors.

Common, unrelieved symptoms of pain, weakness and loss of feeling in your arms and legs may be an indication that lumbar or cervical spine surgery is necessary. Typically, your spinal physician first prescribes conservative treatments, such as physical therapy and oral medications. But if these methods haven’t alleviated your symptoms, your spine center specialist considers surgical options.

Some conditions don’t respond well to less invasive, at-home treatments.
The spine conditions that often require some level of surgical intervention include:

• Degenerative disc disease
• Herniated discs
• Spinal stenosis
• Spondylosis
• Spondylolisthesis
• Scoliosis
• A fractured vertebra
• Spinal tumors
• Spinal infections
• Radiculopathy
• Myelopathy
• Kyphosis

Finding Spine Surgery Near Me

When looking for effective solutions to improve the range of motion affected by musculoskeletal conditions and begin a journey toward reduced pain and better health, choose a team of board-certified surgeons and physician assistants offering advanced, minimally invasive treatments for all spine-related musculoskeletal conditions.

How To Find a Doctor Offering Spine Surgery Near Me

If you’re looking for a skilled specialist in your area, here are a few tips:

• Request advice from your primary care provider, friends, or family members.
• Search online for phrases like “minimally invasive spine surgery near me,” “back surgery near me,” “endoscopic spine surgery near me,” or “laser spine surgery near me.”
• Read online reviews of local doctors who perform back surgery and meet with a couple of them to discuss your treatment options.

Premier Brain & Spine provides fast, professional care for musculoskeletal disorders impacting bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons. Our pain and neurosurgery center emphasizes building trust with patients. We conduct thorough assessments of each patient’s unique needs to develop targeted treatment plans that deliver optimal results.

Our specialized doctors handle everything from neck to lower back surgery and rehabilitation utilizing cutting-edge endoscopic and laser surgical techniques. At Premier Brain & Spine, our experienced and skilled medical team is dedicated to helping you achieve a pain-free quality of life.

Your board certified surgeon determines whether to perform a surgery as an open or minimally invasive procedure. Open surgery is the traditional method of doing spine surgery.

During the procedure, the doctor follows certain steps, including:

1. The surgeon makes an incision approximately five to six inches on your back.
2. Muscles and soft tissue are lifted off the bones, giving your surgeon direct access to the problem area.
3. Your specialist completes the necessary procedure.
4. The incision is closed, and you’re moved into a recovery room.

The advantage of this method is that it allows direct visibility of your bones and soft tissues, so your surgeon possibly detects additional problems not found earlier.

While open surgery is more invasive, it’s still an effective procedure to resolve spinal complications. In some cases, open surgery may be the only appropriate surgical option.

Your doctors prefer to use minimally invasive procedures whenever possible to reduce the risks and make your recovery much smoother and quicker.

Minimally invasive procedures typically follow steps that include:

1. Your doctor makes smaller incisions, approximately an inch long.
2. A tubular retracting device is inserted through the small incision.
3. Corrections made with the assistance of an endoscopic tool that has a tiny camera attached to it. Fluoroscopy guides your surgeon’s movements on a large screen in real time.
4. Stitches usually consisting of surgical glue or staples easily the small incision closed.

The downside to the minimally invasive method is limited visibility, which doctors overcome by taking numerous diagnostic images prior to the surgery. Laser and robot surgery are other forms of minimally invasive spine surgery. Laser surgery relies on targeted laser beams to remove damaged or diseased tissue.
Laser surgery is ideal for procedures such as:

• Removing tumors
• Sealing blood vessels to prevent blood loss
• Sealing lymph vessels to prevent swelling and reducing the spread of tumors

Smaller Incisions, Reduced Muscle Disruption

Unlike open surgery, which requires large incisions and significant muscle retraction, MISS involves small incisions, usually less than an inch. This approach minimizes muscle and soft tissue damage, reducing pain after the surgery and promoting a quicker recovery. Patients often lose less blood and have a lower risk of infections due to the smaller surgical site.

Precision with Advanced Imaging

With minimally invasive spine surgery techniques, your doctor can use real-time imaging technologies, such as fluoroscopy and intraoperative navigation systems, for high precision. A surgeon has an enhanced visualization, allowing him to place surgical instruments and implants accurately. This reduces the risk of complications and improves surgical outcomes.

Shorter Hospital Stays and Faster Recovery

After minimally invasive procedures, many patients can be discharged within 24 hours. Since MISS allows for making smaller incisions, your body recovers much faster, and you can return to your daily routine quicker.

Lower Risk of Complications

Studies have shown that MISS is associated with a lower incidence of surgical site infections compared to open spinal surgery. The smaller incisions and reduced tissue damage mean a lower risk of complications, leading to higher patient safety.

Improved Cosmetic Outcomes

The smaller incisions used in MISS mean less scarring. This is especially beneficial for patients concerned about the appearance of surgical scars.

While minimally invasive spine surgery has lots of benefits, not every patient can have this procedure. Our fellowship-trained surgeons evaluate different factors to determine if MISS is your option.

Ideal Candidates for MISS

Patients who may benefit from minimally invasive surgery include:

• Symptoms: Experiencing chronic back or neck pain, numbness, weakness, or radiating symptoms that have not improved with conservative treatments such as physical therapy, medications, or injections.
• Specific Spinal Conditions: Conditions that respond well to MISS include herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, spinal instability, compression fractures, and certain spinal tumors or infections.
• Good Overall Health: Being in good overall health and managing chronic conditions well.
• Localized Spinal Issues: Your condition affects one or two areas of the spine.
• Failed Conservative Treatments: Non-surgical treatments, like physical therapy, medications, and injections, don’t help.

When MISS May Not Be an Option

People who fall under the following criteria can’t have minimally invasive spine surgery:

• Older Adults with Health Issues: Elderly patients with major health issues may have more complications during and after the procedure.
• Obesity: Having extra weight can lead to complications and negatively affect the healing process. Having an increased risk of infection, delayed wound healing, and other postoperative complications due to obesity means that traditional spine surgery might be a safer option.
• Severe Spinal Deformities: People with severe scoliosis or kyphosis may need more invasive procedures like traditional open surgery.
• Having Invasive Previous Spine Surgeries: Patients who had invasive previous spine surgeries might not be ideal candidates for MISS due to scarring that can complicate access to the affected area.
• Complex Spinal Conditions: Advanced spinal tumors, widespread spinal infections, or severe osteoporosis may require traditional open surgery for adequate access and treatment.

Special Considerations for Older Adults

Elderly patients may benefit from minimally invasive spine surgery, since the procedure offers reduced muscle damage and quicker recovery. However, careful diagnosis and examination are essential to assess surgical risks. Bone density, overall health, and the presence of other medical conditions must be considered. In some cases, traditional open surgery may be a better option.

Open surgery normally requires at least an overnight stay in a hospital. It’s common to experience pain after an open spine surgery because of the amount of manipulation your doctor did to the muscles and soft tissue. Your spine pain center surgical team monitors your recovery and manages your pain as you heal. Minimally invasive spine surgery typically takes place in an ambulatory surgery center on an outpatient basis.

Recovery times vary from as little as six to eight weeks up to a year, depending on:

• The type of procedure performed
• Your age

No matter what type of spine surgery you undergo, however, your recovery depends on how closely you follow your doctor’s instructions, such as:

• Avoiding twisting, bending and lifting
• Learning how to properly lift objects
• Lifting no more than 10 pounds until your doctor advises otherwise
• Staying active, primarily with everyday walking
• Going to all physical therapy appointments
• Maintaining an exercise routine as directed by your NJ spine center doctor and your physical therapist

Following extensive diagnostic testing, a thorough medical history and a complete round of conservative treatments, your spine center doctor offers surgical treatment options at the advanced endoscopic spine surgery center that includes:

• Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
• Anterior lumbar interbody fusion
• Posterior cervical laminectomy and fusion
• Thoracic laminectomy and fusion
• Lateral lumbar interbody fusion
• Lumbar foraminotomy
• Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion
• Posterior lumbar interbody fusion
• Discectomy or microdiscectomy
• Disc replacement surgery
• Corpectomy
• Vertebroplasty
• Kyphoplasty
• Laminectomy
• Spinal fusion
• Spinal reconstruction surgery
• Hemilaminectomy
• Decompression surgery

The team at Premier Brain & Spine takes pride in knowing everything there is to know about spine care, including lumbar (lower back) and thoracic (mid-back) injury diagnosis and surgery.

For more information about minimally invasive spine surgery in NJ or to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists, contact us at (866) 590-0601. You may also visit our advanced spine surgery center and see for yourself why so many patients in New York & New Jersey consider us the top surgeons specializing in the most current surgical techniques, including cutting-edge medical laser technology and endoscopic spine surgery focused on small incisions and minimal scar tissue formation.