History of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Abstract

Reducing the patient’s pain, accelerating recovery, and preventing degenerative changes and instability due to damage to normal tissues have been the concerns of many spine surgeons since the beginning of modern spine surgery. Thanks to the invention of various surgical methods and the development of surgical instruments, current spine surgery makes it possible to treat a wider area of the spine with fewer incisions and minor structural damage. Although at the stage of development of minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS), some treatments were regarded as treatments lacking evidence or were discontinued due to fatal side effects, spine surgeons did not get frustrated and overcame numerous trials and errors. MISS has reached the position of scientific, well-established, and genuinely patient-friendly treatment that should not be biased against commercial or unscrupulous care. MISS is not opposed to conventional spine surgery but is an advanced surgical technique that pursues the best results for the patient. It is a treatment that minimizes the patient’s damage through technological advances and resolves unnecessary hesitation in the patient’s treatment. As MISS experience has been accumulated, it is now possible to replace many areas of open spine surgery with MISS. MISS has become an essential skill that spine surgeons should have. MISS will lead the future of spine surgery.