No other medical center in the United States currently treats as many back and neck problems as we do, using minimally invasive approaches. Our premier surgeons can stabilize painful joints, decompress pinched nerves, fuse bones, and correct deformities--all through small incisions and endosopes.

Minimally invasive spinal surgery offers the same post-surgical benefits as traditional spine surgery--but with much less trauma. A smaller incision is not the only advantage. Using an endoscope, the surgeon does not need to move, or "retract," the major muscles on the back, which is necessary during open spine surgery. So, patients are spared the pain and scarring that can develop after muscle retraction. Patients also require much less anesthesia during minimally invasive procedures. In addition, hospital stays are dramatically shorter. Many patients are able to go home the same day after endoscopic spine surgery. Open spine surgery usually requires four to five days in the hospital.

For several years, our premier brain surgeons have been using endoscopes to treat hydrocephalus, which is a dangerous buildup of spinal fluid in the ventricles, or fluid spaces, of the brain. Our brain surgeons are also successfully diagnosing and treating brain tumors using endoscopic approaches. These minimally invasive operations can benefit people of all ages--from tiny newborns to older adults.

Not all brain surgeries can be performed using endoscopic approaches. When open brain surgery is necessary, our world-class surgeons rely on the latest technology to help minimize the patient’s pain and trauma. Using data from CT or MRI scans and other brain imaging tests, our staff create detailed 3-D computer models of a patient’s brain. These sophisticated stereotactic techniques – some of which were developed here at the University of Chicago – help our brain surgeons pinpoint the exact location and size of a brain tumor or other abnormality. As a result, open brain surgeries today require much smaller incisions than they used to. In the past, a surgeon would have to make a 10-cm incision to locate and remove a 2-cm tumor. Today, the operation only requires a 1-2cm opening. The benefits to the patient are obvious: less pain, a quicker recovery, fewer side effects, and less brain trauma.