Jeff Langmaid argues that minimally invasive spine surgery is still surgery. You get anesthesia, incisions, muscle damage, and permanent anatomical changes no matter what the procedure is called. Don't assume the label means it's safer.
Spine surgery is not just defined by procedure. It's really about the details of that procedure. And to me, that's one of the most important take-home messages of this study, is that, you know, regardless of the approach that somebody's taking, a surgery is still a surgery. People are still going under— in most cases, most of the time, they're still going under anesthesia. I don't care how minimally invasive a surgery is, there still is an incision happening, there is muscle disruption happening, there is stitching happening, and it's a significant change. It's a change to the anatomy. The goal literally is a permanent change to the anatomy. So I, I don't think we should take that for granted. Just because somebody says minimally invasive doesn't mean that it's always better.
