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 whic...
