Endoscopic surgery

What is endoscopic surgery?

It is a continuous challange of surgery to treat illnesses with as minimal damage as possible. This is why classical exploratory surgery is slowly replaced by endoscopic surgery. The point of the method is not to open up the patient's body, but to only insert a camera and a source of light to the treated lesions, thereby making the affected area visible for surgey. Surgery is carried out through so-called "operation channels". If required, we can deliver further tools to the surgical area through other small holes.

Endoscopy is considered to be routine in orthopedy, used predominantly in knee- and shoulder surgery. Thanks to the rapid evolution of technology, endoscopy is now also suitable to perform spinal surgery.

To whom and when do we advise endoscopic surgery?

This method is mostly used for the treatment of patients suffering from herniated discs (discus hernia) and spinal thenosis. These two cases make up about 80-90% of the patients who require surgery.

How is it done?

During surgery, we insert an endoscope with a diameter of approx. 2 cm and use this to open up the spinal canal. The surgery is usually carried out during anaesthesis or spinal anaesthesis. Average time of surgery is only 45 minutes.

The check-up of the patient is done a week before surgery in ambulatory circumstances.

The patient is allowed to get up even on the night following surgey and becomes self-sufficent. Pain from wounds can be felt, but usually the pain radiating from the herniated discs towards the lower limbs disappear. The patient is usually hospitalized for a period between 1-3 days.

Patients can usually start work within 2-4 weeks, this is of course subject to the type of work and the pace of recovery of the patient. This is approximately half the recovery time usual for classical surgery.

Why is this better?

The smaller surgical invasion causes less damage to muscle and other tissue, which provides for a faster and more complete recovery. The optics are below the wound, so the surgeon sees the operated area perfectly. This greatly increases safety, because the surgeon can reduce bleeding more efficiently which results in less scar tissue and scaring.

There is also less exertion due to smaller surgical intervention which promises shorter hospitalisation periods and a faster return to work. Aesthetics should also be taken into account, due to the fact that the scar left behind is much smaller, the cosmetic outcome is also much better.


Treatments

The Doctorfit Spinal clinic offers three distinct pillars of treatment

1. Pain relief

2. Rehabilitation

3. Surgery

Our therapies create a logical sequence of events. As a first step, we endeavour to relieve our patients from spinal pain and then we restore the strength and mobility of their spine with a rehabilitation program.

In case this conservative approach is not successful, surgery must be performed after which we also use our rehabilitation program to restore the health of our patient’s spine.

Patients who choose our clinic, have a greater sense of security in the fact that they always have immediate access to medical assistance any time during their therapy should they experience any problems or deterioration in their medical condition.

1. Pain relief

Fájdalomcsillapítás kép

„It is not right, when the pain of the patient is borne well by the doctor”

A herniated disc as well as all other types of spinal diseases come with a great deal of pain, that is why the first and most urgent goal of our medical philosophy is to relieve the patient from its pain. Our clinic offers various methods to relieve our patients from pain. We found it extremely important to decrease the patients’ spinal pains and complaints already at the first consultation.

The treating physician and the patient choose the most effective analgesic from all the methods available at our clinic based on mutual agreement.

Please find the pain relief methods used in most cases by our clinic:

  • Medication treatment
  • Infusion treatment
  • Spinal column blockade
  • Epidural injection

2. Rehabilitation

Here at the Doctorfit spinal clinic we are proud of our one-of-a-kind, complex spinal-rehabilitation program called „mobility-stability-strength”. The essence of this program is to improve the overall conditions of the spine with the use of three kinds of treatment methods in a logical and coordinated manner.

Our rehabilitation program can be started in the case of any spinal complaint or following surgery. Precise rehabilitation is essential after spinal surgery which must be conducted by a team who are experienced in the treatment of various types of surgery.

These are the various components of the spine-rehabilitation program:

Mobility

In the first part of the rehabilitation we mobilise (move) the painful part of the spine and the neighbouring segments as well as the hip and shoulder joints. This is required because, normal movement can only be expected from joints and spinal segments, which have an adequate range of motion and as such mobility therapy may only be used in cases where the correct path of motion has been restored. Mobility therapies are performed by our internationally recognized Yumeiho massage therapists and specially trained physiotherapists.

Stability

As a result of spinal diseases –most notably in cases of degenerative spinal diseases- the stabilizing function of the core back muscles are always compromised. The restoration of the strength and harmonised movement of the so called „stabilizing” muscles located around the spinal cord is a vital part of our program. At this stage our physiotherpatsts attend to our patients.

Strength

When the complaints of the patient have ceased, it is time to start the rehabilitation training. This is a very important program for those, who would like to get into a better physical condition then they were in before their spinal disease and surgery. Including work-out session in the rehabilitation is the revolutionary idea of the Doctorfit Spinal Clinic, which is carried out based on our own protocol.

The program starts with a special conditions survey (FMS), after which, with the help of our rehabilitation trainers, our patients begin learning basic movemement patterns as well as methods to improve strength and endurance.

When our patients become able to take part in our group sessions, they can join one of our workout groups, where they can further develop their acquired skills. This is the moment our team at Doctorfit works for and nothing can make us happier then to see our patients fit and healthy again.

Patients become our work-out partners

3. Surgery

Műtét kép

Motto: The best surgery is the one that doesn’t have to be done at all.

The main goal of our clinic is to perform sugery on the least amount of people possible. However, there are situations where surgery cannot be avoided. In such cases our our goal is to only carry out minimal-invasive spinal surgery. The term „minimal-invasive” means that we try to choose the method which causes the least possible damage to tissues and promises a speedy recovery for our patients.

Currently the patient can choose from three locations for surgery:

  • Surgery at the Róbert Károly Clinic must be payed by the patient. Here we predominantly have surgeries for herniated discs (discus hernia) if the natue of the illness permits us to carry out endoscopic surgery. Here we also carry out surgeries for pyriformis syndroma. It is also possible to have other types of surgergy performed at the Róbert Károly clinic, if requested by the patient.
  • Surgeries financed by OEP (NEAK)that require an implant are carried at the Neurosurgery department of the Szent János Hospital:
    • Stabilization due to cervical disc herniation
    • Lumbar spine stabilisation
    • Lumbar spine stabilisation with frontal penetration
  • There is also possibility to have OEP (NEAK) financed spinal surgery at the Orthopedic Department of the Szent János Hospital. Here we predominantly have surgeries for lumbar herniated discs and spinal stenosis.

Pre-surgery consultation takes place at the Doctorfit spinal clinic.

  • Work-out and physiotherapy
  • Endoscopic surgery