Minimally-Invasive Spine Surgery

Minimally invasive spine surgery restores your spine health, eases your pain, and helps you regain an active life — and it does all with less post-surgery pain and a fast recovery. Fellowship-trained spine surgeon Ashish Upadhyay, MD, MS, at Connecticut Advanced Spine in Bristol, Connecticut, has exceptional surgical skills and years of experience performing minimally invasive spine surgery to repair the problems causing you pain. Call the office or connect online today to request a consultation and learn how minimally invasive spine surgery can improve your life.

What is minimally invasive spine surgery?

Minimally invasive spine surgery repairs problems in your back and neck using small incisions and specialized instruments narrow enough to fit through the tiny cut. Dr. Upadhyay uses an operating microscope or endoscope to view your spine and perform your surgery.

What health benefits do I gain from minimally invasive spine surgery?

The small incision alone causes significantly less trauma. Additionally, Dr. Upadhyay spares your muscles and other tissues. Instead of cutting through the tissues, he uses a round tube-shaped retractor to gently separate the muscles, creating the small opening needed for the instruments.

Open surgery causes dramatically more trauma because the incision is long and also cuts through all the tissues. Then, the surgeon pulls them back to create an opening large enough for their hands and instruments.

Minimally invasive spine surgery delivers the following benefits:

• Less blood loss during surgery
• Lower risk of infection
• Reduced post-surgery pain
• Faster recovery and return to activities
• Diminished need for pain medications
• Better cosmetic results (small incisions cause less scarring)

Minimally invasive spine surgery allows many patients to have an outpatient procedure.

When would I need minimally invasive spine surgery?

Dr. Upadhyay begins your treatment with holistic, nonsurgical care. But if you still have neck or back pain after conservative treatments, he may recommend minimally invasive spine surgery to repair the problem responsible for your symptoms.

Minimally invasive procedures treat a wide range of spine conditions, including:

• Facet joint arthritis
• Herniated discs
• Degenerative disc disease
• Spinal stenosis
• Spinal instability
• Pinched nerves (radiculopathy)
• Vertebral compression fractures
• Spondylolisthesis (slipped vertebra)

Most patients with these conditions (but not all) qualify for minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Upadhyay carefully evaluates your spine condition and overall health and recommends the best procedure.

What goals does minimally invasive spine surgery achieve?

At Connecticut Advanced Spine, Dr. Upadhyay performs many minimally invasive procedures that vary in approach, but all have the goals of decompressing spinal nerves and stabilizing your spine.

He may remove damaged discs, bone spurs, and other tissues, replace damaged discs, or fuse the vertebrae. In some cases, he may insert orthopedic hardware like plates and rods.

If you need back or neck pain relief, don’t wait to consult with Dr. Upadhyay. Call Connecticut Advanced Spine or use online booking to learn about the best treatment for your spine condition.