Endoscopic spinal surgery in Taunton

Why choose Nuffield Health Taunton Hospital for your endoscopic spinal surgery?

Expert spinal surgeon Mr Subramanian strongly believes that endoscopic spinal surgery is the future. Endoscopic spinal surgery is a minimally invasive procedure which uses a similar technique to knee arthroscopy (key hole procedure). The procedure enables Mr Subramanian to leave less muscle tissue damage and scaring around spinal nerves.

As a result of this innovative procedure patient recovery time is much quicker, which leads to a faster return to work and normal activities. In Mr Subramanian's experience, he believes that the incidence of back pain following surgery is much less when compared to traditional open spinal surgery. 

How to book a private consultation at Nuffield Health Taunton Hospital

Before proceeding with back treatment, all patients are required to undergo a full consultation with Mr Subramanian. If you are suffering from back pain and want to book a consultation, please call our dedicated hospital enquiry team on 01823 476334.

Please let the enquiry handler know if you have had any recent X-rays or scans when booking your consultation, as there will be additional charges for any diagnostic imaging required.

When is endoscopic spinal surgery needed?

The procedure is useful for patents who have a lumbar disc prolapse or stenosis (tightness around the nerves). Endoscopic spinal surgery can also be used to perform spinal fusion.

How is the procedure performed?

Endoscopic spinal surgery is performed under a local anaesthetic and sedation. This avoids the complications of general anaesthesia. Patients are even able to watch the procedure on a large screen if they like.

Once the procedure is complete, a straight leg raise test is performed to determine whether the patient's sciatic pain has been resolved. This indicates that the nerve root is free and minimises unnecessary removal of excess disc material and bone.

What are the benefits?

In Mr Subramanian's opinion, patients who undergo endoscopic spinal surgery enjoy the following benefits:

• Less operating time
• Direct vision using a HD camera
• Less bleeding
• Less muscle damage
• Can go home the same day
• No general anaesthesia
• Faster recovery
• Earlier return to work
• Less back pain in the future.

What are the disadvantages?

• Procedure has a steep learning curve
• Sometimes there is a need to covert to traditional lumbar discectomy
• Intra-operative risks like open surgery (but minimal)
• Slight increased risk of revision surgery.