Endoscopic surgery has steadily gained in popularity since it was developed in the 1980s. Dr. Richard Siegfried has teamed with Dr. Louis Quartararo one of only a handful of surgeons who have been trained to perform endoscopic surgery on the spine.
Drs. Siegfried and Quartararo perform endoscopic spine surgery using a video telescope and miniaturized instruments through a tiny incision. By minimizing the disturbance to surrounding tissue, postoperative discomfort is reduced and recovery time dramatically shortened.
Dr. Siegfried says, "We've had patients who've been out of work for six months to a year-and-a-half who've been able to return to work. We've had patients who were on narcotic painkillers who are off their medications and have really gotten their life back."
The Endoscopic Microdiscectomy procedure removes a tiny portion of the disc in the spine so that the disc is no longer pressing on the nerve root. Rather than creating a 3-inch or larger incision, as would be the case in traditional surgery, this procedure is performed through a tiny 1/2-inch incision. The combination of a miniaturized video camera, live x-rays and sophisticated neurological monitoring guides the surgeon so he can successfully remove a tiny piece of the disc without cutting surrounding nerves, muscle and bone. The patient goes home within a few hours with one or two band-aids on their back.
Drs. Quartararo and Siegfried also offer another form of miniaturized surgery called Endoscopic Lumbar Fusion. This newer procedure has only been around for a few years. It is recommended for patients with disc disease who have back pain with or without leg pain. Traditional lumbar fusion surgery would require an 8- to 10-inch incision and would involve significant post-operative pain. But with endoscopic surgery, there are only two incisions that are 2-1/2 inches in length on either side of the spine for a bar to hold the spine in place during healing. Rather than a 4- to 5-day hospital stay, the patient can go home between 12 and 23 hours after the procedure.