Temple Health's minimally invasive spine surgery eliminates pain and reduces recovery times

Temple Health is on the forefront of a cutting edge procedure that will change how a common condition is treated.

Spinal stenosis occurs with normal wear and tear of an aging body. But that doesn't mean you have to suffer in pain or endure major surgery.

As we age, our bodies change and our bones and spine begin to compress, narrowing the space that's there for the nerves, creating spinal stenosis.

Traditional surgery requires a large incision and a large amount of muscle dissection, which leads to long recovery times.

"We've gotten a lot more sort of savvy at putting together surgical procedures that are designed to decompress the spine, stabilize the spine and provide relief to a patient that aren't as invasive," said Dr. Michael Weaver, Professor and Chairman of Neurosurgery at Temple Health.

Temple Health is a leader in minimally invasive spine surgery. The technique uses a small one-inch incision with less overall impact on the body.

"Less damage to the body, less pain postoperatively and then faster recovery," said Dr. Bong-Soo Kim, Director Neurosurgical Spine Surgery.

"Where you would normally be looking at a five-to-seven-day hospitalization, a lot of pain, to effectively an overnight or a one or two-day hospitalization," said Dr. Weaver.

Because of how small the incision is, it requires specialized training which the doctors at Temple Health have.

"Keyhole surgery we call, requires a good orientation of anatomy," said Dr. Kim.

"I think it is going to obviously make more people candidates for spinal procedures," said Dr. Weaver.

While spinal stenosis is a fact of age, there are things you can do to help prevent it, like practicing good posture, keeping excess weight off and regular exercise.