Keyhole Surgery

Keyhole surgery is Minimally Invasive Surgery, where the spine surgeon accesses the targeted area through a small incision the size of a keyhole. It is an alternative to open surgery in which a long incision is made to access the internal organs. We all heard about minimally invasive keyhole surgery done in the abdomen known as Keyhole Laparoscopic Surgery. But nowadays, keyhole surgery is possible in the spine also to access the disc or lamina and is usually done for sciatica or slip disc problems. Our surgeon Dr. Sanyam Jain recommends for spinal conditions, such as spinal decompression, spinal instrumentation, spinal fusion, disc prolapse, and diagnosis.

For keyhole surgery, a thin tube called an endoscope with a light source; a camera mounted on its top, is passed into the operational site through a small keyhole incision. The surgeon then creates other small incisions to pass MISS tools(tools which are specifically designed for this procedure).

All Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeries or Keyholes are done through small incisions for lesser pain and faster Keyhole Surgery Recovery.

 Few types of key-hole spine surgeries include:

• Endoscopic OLIF Surgery– Stands for oblique lumbar interbody fusion is a minimally invasive spine surgery technique to access the lumbar spine and perform fusion through a small oblique incision, avoiding stripping of psoas muscles and interference with nerves.
  
  
• Micro-Endoscopic TLIF Surgery– Endoscopic Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) is the type of keyhole surgery or a minimally invasive technique in which, the spine is assessed through the foramen (an opening that allows the nerve roots to exit), the posterior spine, with an incision lesser than 1 cm. It does not require retracting muscles from bones, hence, leads to lesser pain and blood loss, and the patient recovers faster.
  
• ALIF– Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion. The Minimal Invasive- ALIF is a fusion surgery that accesses the spine through the abdomen avoiding the back muscles altogether. It is performed to relieve low back or leg pain caused due to degenerative disc disease.
  
  
• ACDF– Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion is an MIS procedure to treat herniated disc or degenerated disc in the cervical neck. The cervical portion is accessed through the front neck, through a small incision and precision MIS instruments inserted, and fusion surgery performed.
  
  
• Microforaminotomy– In this MIS procedure, the surgeon expands the foramen area through which  the nerve-root exits. It is done in cases like foraminal stenosis or foraminal disc prolapse.
  
  
• MIcro-endoscopic discectomy– It is alternative to open traditional discectomy surgery done for SLIP DISC/SCIATICA pain in which herniated part of intervertebral disc is removed thus relieving the pressure over nerves  and remaining the normal disc part intact between the vertebrae of the lumbar region.
  
  
• MIcro-endoscopic decompression– It is a decompression procedure to relieve the pressure over spinal cord and nerve roots and usually advised in cases of spinal stenosis. In this surgery, both sides nerve root decompression is done through a small incision from the single side only known as OVER-THE TOP DECOMPRESSION. This procedure includes removal of lamina and ligamentum flavum which is the main culprit causing spinal stenosis.

The MISS keyhole surgery offers many advantages in contrast to open surgery. The advantages are discussed below as:

• Very small incisions
• Lesser blood loss
• Minimum painkillers prescription post surgery
• More comfortable and less fearful
• Minimum risk of infection
• Lesser stay-period of hospitalization
• Faster recovery than open surgery
• Lesser incidence of surgery-related back pain
• Fewer postoperative complications

We use keyhole Surgery for both diagnosis and treatment done by Dr. Sanyam Jain Which is the Best Spine Surgeon in Delhi NCR. This rod is equipped with an on-board camera that provides real-time biopsy and aids in diagnosis. We perform keyhole surgery for the following purposes.

• Sample collection of tissues for biopsy
• Spine Fusion surgery /Spinal instrumentation 
• Spine Decompression 
• Herniated disc or prolapsed disc/ slip disc