Tubular Retractors
The biggest technological advance, in the estimation of Dr. Ogden, has been the invention of tubular retractors, which allow the spine surgeon to insert a tube through a small incision close to the problem area, gently spread the muscles apart rather than cut through them, and perform delicate procedures such as:
- Discectomy, in which part or all of a disc is removed -- typically, to relieve back and leg pain caused by a herniated lumbar disc.
- Laminectomy, involving the removal of the rear part of a vertebra to relieve pressure on a pinched nerve.
- Spinal fusion, in which the surgeon connects two or more vertebrae using bone grafts -- the surgical treatment of choice for the excruciating pain seen in some cases of degenerative disc disease.
- Tumor removal, in which tumors arising from inside or near the spinal canal are removed.
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