Neurosurgery Techniques

Neurosurgeon Anders Cohen Advocates a Minimally Invasive Approach for Treating Scoliosis

The world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Anders Cohen is a staunch advocate of new surgical techniques for dealing with many of the conditions and diseases of the spine and nervous system that plague patients the world over. These techniques represent a marked improvement over methods of the past, because they are minimally invasive and thus less potentially risky, less expensive and more convenient for those undergoing them. Recovery time is also drastically reduced compared to those operated on by the older methods.

Scoliosis is one of the conditions whose treatment has been greatly impacted by the development of these new methods. Certain types of scoliosis can be treated effectively by the new technique known as the endoscopic system for scoliosis correction. These techniques permit surgeons like Dr. Anders Cohen to emulate the effects of more traditional ‘open’ surgical techniques, but with far less trauma to the muscles of the area. In the endoscopic system, several small incisions or ‘portals’ are made in the side of the chest. Once these portals have been made, surgeons can insert their instruments through them and treat the condition. Another advantage of the system compared to the older way is that, thanks to the use of the endoscope, surgeons are able to view the inside of the cavity and thus have greater flexibility during the operation.

Dr. Anders Cohen explains that patients undergoing this procedure are first helped to fall asleep by their anesthesiologists, and then turned on their sides to give their doctors access to the spine. Three to five small incisions are then made depending on the location of the area to be treated, and then the spinal column is exposed. The rib graft is harvested and screws are placed in the vertebrae. Correction of the vertebrae is done with the use of a rod, and then the five incisions are closed to finish the operation.