What Are Disadvantages Associated With Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery?

Dr. Barba shares the disadvantages associated with minimally invasive spine surgery and how a woman can find a qualified doctor to perform the surgery.

Dr. Barba:
The disadvantages of minimally invasive spine surgery are that your surgeon has to be specially trained in it; not everybody can do these procedures and it takes a level of expertise and training that is increasing, but is still not at the hands of every surgeon, and so you want to be careful to be sure that your minimally invasive spine surgeon has a wide experience in this and has been specially trained to do this.

So the easiest way to find out about your physician’s experience is to simply ask the questions. One would be to ask questions of the doctor you trust, such as your family practice doctor. Another is to ask the surgeon themselves and to get an idea of what their experience is, how long they have trained, what specialty training they have had, and a third way is to go on the Internet and to look for surveys. You can get a lot of information there as well; what sort of training a doctor has and what their specialties are.

About Dr. Barba, M.D.:
Certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons, Dr. David Barba is a member of numerous professional societies including the San Diego Academy of Neurological Surgeons, the Western Neurological Society, and the Research Society of Neurological Surgeons. He is currently serving as associate professor in the Division of Neurological Surgery in the Department of Surgery at UCSD.