Hi there...tools are quite similarly like for humans such as drills, bone saws, K-Wires. currettes, osteotomes, screw drivers, maillots, fluoroscopy, IM nails, screws, plates, etc .

Smaller clinics find that the surgical supplies are very expensive so it is not cost effective for the average veterinary hosptial to keep them on hand. Orthopedics veterinary medicine are now a specialty in the field.

Pros of minimally invasive orthopedic spine surgery

It has always been the basic aim of surgery to contain the trauma inflicted on patients during surgery to the barest minimum. Modern technology and the availability of modern instruments have given a new dimension to this principle. A large number of techniques are followed to stick to the philosophy of minimally invasive surgery. In the last ten years, minimally invasive orthopedic spine surgery has scaled new heights.

The principle goal of minimally invasive orthopedic spine surgery is to perform an efficient surgical procedure in the target location with minimum trauma. This can be achieved by keeping the access surgery and the target surgery minimally invasive. Unfortunately, most modern surgeries use minimally invasive techniques in accessing the area. What is done in the target area need not be minimally invasive. If that happens, the objective of a minimally invasive orthopedic spine surgery is defeated altogether.

Since the spine is centrally located, it may be accessed from different directions and through different entrances. Typically, the skin incision is quite small, though the area and the type of procedure determine the surgical entrance. In general, cosmetic aspects of the incision are also taken into account and skin incisions are made to follow skin lines, wherever possible.

In a minimally invasive orthopedic spine surgery, the route to the target area should be made through the safest and shortest pathways, like pre-formed spaces, for instance. This ensures that minimum collateral damage is afflicted on surrounding tissues. Only by so doing can a patient really enjoy benefits like quick healing, minimal pain and a quick return to normal activities.

In a good percentage of minimally invasive surgical procedures, care is taken only to keep the access area small. Once the surgical instruments are inside the body, they expand and inflict as much trauma on surrounding tissues as a normal surgery. In such cases, patients do not enjoy any of the benefits because the tissues and muscles inside are traumatized way beyond what is observed from the outside.  

True minimally invasive spine surgery requires orthopedic spine surgeons who are qualified in the complicated procedures and know how to use and work with the sophistical equipment that is an important part of a minimally invasive surgery. In these cases, the surgery is truly minimally invasive and the incisions all the way through may be as small as 3 mm. In this way, the orthopedic spine surgeon can avoid cutting the muscles altogether. Surgery time is cut down drastically and the use of anesthesia may be limited to local anesthetics, thus cutting risks associated with sedation. Many of the procedures are performed as a day surgery. This results in minimal recovery time, minimal scarring, reduced trauma and quicker resumption of normal activities.

About the Author

Surgeons at Minimally Invasive Spine Institute are pioneers in performing minimally invasive orthopedic spine surgery.