title: Standard and minimally invasive approaches to the spine.
abstract: With the advent of minimally invasive surgical approaches to the spine, the ability to adequately expose the desired anatomic structures while minimizing the disadvantages of excessive soft tissue stripping, dissection, and prolonged retraction has become increasingly popular. A minimally invasive one- or two-level posterior exposure of the spine is now safely attainable with the latest minimal-access systems that exploit the biomechanics of an adjustable blade retractor. As the clinical use of these developing systems escalates, more outcomes data will become available to determine the safety and value of these minimally invasive procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC 20307, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lehman
authors.forename: Alexander R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Vaccaro
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bertagnoli
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Kuklo
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020706:Laparoscopes; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000592:standards*; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020535:Video-Assisted Surgery / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*