Microscopic Lumbar Discectomy
Each year, approximately 1% of adults in the United States experience lumbar disc herniation that causes sciatica, pain that radiates from the lower back through the leg.

Microscopic lumbar discectomy is a procedure that can be performed as outpatient surgery or as inpatient surgery with a one-night stay in the hospital. The minimally invasive procedure involves making a 1-inch incision so the surgeon can remove the disc fragment causing the pain. A smaller incision leads to less blood loss, decreased postoperative pain and a quicker recovery.

Scoliosis and Kyphosis Surgery
Scoliosis is the condition of lateral, or side-to-side, spinal curves. On an X-ray, the spine of a scoliosis patient looks more like an “S” or a “C” than a straight line. A normal spine curves gently backward (kyphosis) in the upper back and gently inward in the lower back (lordosis). Some of the bones in a scoliotic spine may also be slightly rotated, causing a difference in the person's shoulder height when standing, a prominence in one part of the back of the chest (thorax) or a prominence in the lower back when standing or bent over. The degree of scoliosis may range from mild to severe.

Recent advances in surgery have allowed surgeons to use minimally invasive techniques to perform scoliosis surgery. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), involves the use of a thoracoscope in combination with a tiny video camera. The camera is introduced into the body though small incisions of 1 to 4 inches or less and enables the surgeon to perform spinal fusion from the front of the spine. VATS results in less blood loss than traditional scoliosis surgery, which uses a 6 to 8-inch incision, less postoperative discomfort and less scarring.