Minimally invasive operations involve minimal intervention in the body, often requiring no incision at all – only a puncture – and they are also highly effective.
Advantages of minimally invasive surgery:
- a high level of safety;
- minimal blood loss;
- early discharge from hospital – some minimally invasive procedures require no hospital stay and are performed on an outpatient basis within a day;
- high effectiveness – thanks to modern equipment, all the necessary tissue can be removed, and, where needed, intervertebral discs that cannot be restored can be replaced with stabilising implants;
- easy and rapid recovery – after minimally invasive surgery, patients do not need a long and complex rehabilitation programme.
Minimally invasive operations to remove a spinal disc herniation include nucleoplasty, endoscopic surgery and microdiscectomy.
When minimally invasive spinal surgery is needed:
- spinal fixation, indicated for degenerative changes in the structure of the intervertebral discs;
- correction of spinal deformities;
- microsurgical removal of a herniated intervertebral disc;
- decompression of the spinal cord in the case of spinal tumours;
- correction and stabilisation of vertebral compression fractures.
How is the operation performed?
In Switzerland, minimally invasive neurosurgical operations are performed using an endoscope – an optical device. A small skin incision is made in the chosen area, through which an endoscope connected to a video camera is inserted. The camera transmits a magnified image of the operating field to a monitor.
This allows the surgeon to find their way during the operation. Instruments are introduced through additional small incisions and used to carry out all the necessary steps on the spine. When the operation is complete, the endoscope and instruments are removed, and the surgical wounds are stitched and dressed.
Rehabilitation and recovery after surgery
The length of rehabilitation depends directly on the type of minimally invasive operation performed and on the patient’s general condition.
Recovery is easiest after nucleoplasty and hydroplasty. Immediately afterwards the patient can not only walk but also sit (preferably for no more than 3 hours), and there is no pressing need to wear a brace. Lifting heavy objects, twisting and lunging must be avoided.
Modern surgery in Switzerland offers a wide range of services, and minimally invasive operations make it possible to resolve an intervertebral disc herniation definitively with low risk.
Today, many patients who are dissatisfied with conservative treatment decide to have the herniation removed in a single day and are then free of severe pain and restricted mobility.
The safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive operations make them the simplest method of treating spinal disc herniation.
Specialists increasingly recommend removing an intervertebral disc herniation at an early stage rather than waiting for it to grow. This ensures there is no risk of neurological or other complications and a rapid return to normal health.
