Open Neck Surgery

Open neck surgery is a traditional form of surgical procedure often used to treat spinal problems in the cervical (neck) region. This form of surgery comes with some risks and disadvantages due to its massively invasive nature, especially compared with minimally invasive endoscopic techniques.

Open Neck Surgery vs. Endoscopic Procedures

Here's a quick glance at some of the advantages a minimally invasive spine procedure holds over an open neck procedure:

• Incision – Open neck surgeries often involve long incisions, sometimes up to six inches in length, while endoscopic incisions are much smaller.
• Muscle cutting – Open neck surgery may require the surgeon to cut away muscle in order to reach the area of the spine to be worked on. This trauma can increase post-operative pain and recovery time. Endoscopic procedures allow the surgeon to gently move aside muscle, rather than cut it.
• Hardware and bone grafts – Fusion, a form of open spine surgery, requires the insertion of hardware, such as a cage, and/or bone grafts. Sometimes the body can reject these insertions, resulting in a failed fusion. Endoscopic procedures can be performed without the need to insert any hardware or bone grafts.
• Hospital stays – Open spine procedures are performed in the hospital and often require a lengthy stay. Endoscopic procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis.
• Recuperation – Massively invasive open neck procedures require recovery periods that can last for months or even a year, but endoscopic procedures often have the patient back to a normal lifestyle much sooner.
• Infection – The risk of infection is significantly less in endoscopic spine procedures.

Find Out More

If conservative, nonsurgical treatments have failed to ease your back or neck pain, but you are concerned about the risks of an open neck surgery, contact Laser Spine Institute today. Our safe, effective endoscopic procedures are minimally invasive alternatives to open spine surgery and can help you find relief from back and neck pain.