A spinal fusion can be an appropriate surgical option for severe cases of neck or back pain, but more often than not they can be avoided with a minimally invasive approach.

In this video, Top US Spine Surgeon, Dr. Hooman Melamed, shows a groundbreaking minimally invasive approach to spine surgery he's pioneered in the United States called Biportal Endoscopic Spine Surgery (BESS).

Endoscopic spine surgery takes the minimally invasive approach to a whole new level. Many surgeons perform endoscopic spine surgery using a single portal. The problem with a single portal is that the surgeons are limited to what they can do, taking a three-dimensional operation and making it into a two-dimensional operation.

Biportal endoscopic spine surgery utilizes two independent portals for viewing and working where these portals are exchangeable. This allows surgeons to maintain a certain distance from the bony and neural structures, which allows closer access to the target lesion through a panoramic magnified view.