An endoscopic rhizotomy is an outpatient procedure that’s one of the least invasive procedures that allows our physician direct visualization of the dorsal ramus branch of nerves including the medial and lateral branch nerves. These nerves innervate the facet joint and connect the pain signal from your back muscles to your brain. When our physician directly observes the nerves with an HD endoscope, he can see and ablate the nerves with certainty and provide significant long-term back and neck pain relief. This least-invasive procedure has significant advantages over the pain management’s percutaneous radiofrequency facet ablation procedure, which is done under a fluoroscopic X-ray.
The endoscopic rhizotomy procedure may be used to treat patients who are suffering from:
Patients report better long-term results from this least-invasive procedure, compared to a traditional percutaneous rhizotomy. An endoscopic rhizotomy can effectively treat back pain, spasms, and provide chronic back pain relief.
You’ll be given local anesthesia. A tiny incision (about 1/4 of an inch) will be made in the skin and muscle of your back near the facet joint of the vertebrae. A 7mm tube is inserted into the incision so the surgeon can access the medial branch nerve. Next, an HD camera is inserted into the metal tube, which gives the surgeon a high-definition view of the medial branch nerve. Using microscopic instruments, the surgeon will ablate the medial branch nerve.
Once the nerve is treated, the metal tube is extracted. There is no need for a stitch; the surgeon will place a small Band-Aid over your incision.
El procedimiento de rizotomía endoscópica generalmente se realiza de forma ambulatoria. Dentro de una hora después de que se complete el procedimiento, podrá regresar a casa. La recuperación completa de este procedimiento no invasivo de 30 minutos lleva solo unas pocas semanas.
Durante el período de recuperación, se le pedirá que acuda a citas de seguimiento. Se puede realizar fisioterapia para ayudarlo a ganar fuerza y movilidad. También es posible que deba tomar algunos medicamentos para aliviar el dolor para reducir las molestias durante el período de recuperación.
