Cover Story
Photo by Nathan James
When Less is More
How less invasive surgeries give patients a faster road to recovery
by DEREK GENOVESE
Y
ou see it on billboards, hear
it on the radio, and watch it
on TV. It seems as if every
doctor is offering some type
of minimally invasive procedure. Typically, you will hear it being used to describe
spine surgery, but did you know that minimally invasive techniques are used for
hand, pain, and orthopedic relief as well?
But what qualifies a procedure as minimally invasive? Can any doctor perform
a minimally invasive surgery? How small
are the incisions? Is there any additional
risk? The doctors at Minimally Invasive
Spine Institute are there to answer all of
your questions.
The Minimally Invasive Spine Institute,
or MISI, is led by director and founder Dr.
Michael Rimlawi, Dr. Bryce Benbow, Dr.
Michael Shaw, and their latest addition,
Dr. Dustin Ray.
WHAT IS ‘MINIMALLY INVASIVE’?
There are actually three main categories
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to describe the invasiveness of surgical
procedures. This includes: Non-Invasive, when there is no break in the skin
or contact with an internal body cavity.
Open Surgery, where the incision allows
the surgeon direct access to the structures
of the body. Minimally Invasive Surgery
involves the use of arthroscopic and laparoscopic devices, with remote control
manipulation of the instruments while
viewing through an endoscope or display
panel.
Some doctors boast of making incisions
less than an inch long, however MISI’s
doctors are trained specialists known for
making incisions as small as 3mm and
they never use expandable retractors.
Every patient will receive their own
customizable treatment because there is
never a one-size-fits-all approach at MISI.
By making such small incisions, and being able to treat the pain with small lasers,
many cases only call for local anesthesia,
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day surgery and a Band-Aid® for healing.
In return, the patient needs less recovery
time with less scarring.
WHO CAN PERFORM MINIMALLY
INVASIVE SPINE PROCEDURES?
The surgeons at MISI are board-certified trained specialists, specifically fellowship-trained and educated in the state-ofthe-art technologies on the market. On
top of performing numerous procedures,
the doctors at MISI also advise and help
design the groundbreaking tools created
by spine technology companies. By involving themselves in the production and
performance of minimally invasive techniques, the doctors at MISI are the most
qualified to perform any minimally invasive spine procedures.