Spinal surgery advances lessen pain, speed recovery time

By Nick Rees

As little as one decade ago, spinal surgery patients would have to wait as long as one year before they could return to normal activities.

With the use of minimally invasive spinal surgery, however, patients are back to normal activities in only a few months and are no longer faced with large scars and long hospital stays.

"We can treat herniated discs, lumbar stenosis and even some tumors through incisions as long as the thumbnail now," Dr. Jonathan Citow, MD, selected as a Chicago Top Doctor by TopTierMD as a top rated neurological surgeon in Chicago, said. "The incision just looks like a papercut and doesn't require a bandaid or stitches. Patients can even shower the next day. We go in through just a small tube, we don't take any muscles off of the bone, and we can remove bone spurs, herniated discs and ligament."

"The procedure takes, on average, about a half an hour per level. Using the old, invasive method would often take several hours and result in a three day stay and six months of recovery. We've really revamped how we treat people."

The old method of spinal surgery involved the moving of back muscles to access the spine. The dissecting of the muscles caused much of the post-operative pain. Often, scarring on the muscles would join the muscles together, causing them to lose independent function. Additionally, back muscles could lose their supply of nerve stimulation, causing a permanent weakness in the back.

Minimally invasive back surgery, however, bypasses the muscles instead of cutting through them, removing all of these problems.

The procedure, Dr. Citow said, is relatively new, but has been refined and advanced since 1999.

"I've been doing it since day one, since it came out," Dr. Citow said. "I started doing minimally invasive spinal surgery in 1999 when I was chief resident at the University of Chicago.

"I actually designed many of the tools used for it. As a result of my expertise, I see patient who fly in from all over the county and have operated on well over 300 doctors and family members."

Dr. Jonathan Citow, MD, was selected by TopTierMD as a Chicago Top Doctor and is considered Best in Neurological Surgery in Chicago. He specializes in minimally invasive spinal surgery, fusions and the treatment of spinal disorders.