Newer, Easier Back Surgery Being Tested In Seattle

Newer, Easier Back Surgery Being Tested In Seattle

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Story Published: Dec 2, 2002 at 3:43 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 12:53 AM PDT

By Leslie Knopp

SEATTLE - What if we told you there was now a type of back surgery with less pain and a short hospital stay?

Mac Noyes is an E.R. doctor at Stevens Hospital. Now the tables are turned -- he's a patient.

"I was walking around with my neck crooked for a few weeks,” he said.

Arthritis and wear and tear on his neck have taken a toll. Noyes has a pinched nerve and was alarmed when his right arm became numb and weak.

Doctor Noyes opted for surgery, but not typical surgery.

It's a new technique called Micro-discectomy.

"It's technically challenging -- we work through a small microscope,” said Harborview Neurosurgery Chief Dr. David Newell. “So we're making small movements in a small space and that's very challenging."

Harborview is one of the first hospitals in the Northwest to do this surgery.

It starts with a small incision. Then, instead of cutting the neck muscles as he would in normal back surgery, Newell pushes them aside with tubes. And using a microscope and tiny tools he exposes the nerve, and then removes bone and tissue pushing on the nerve.

The surgery takes an hour... far less than the old method.

“"The advantage with this procedure is they recover faster and earlier,” Dr. Newell said.

That's the trend as doctors try to make surgery less invasive and easier on patients.

"About 90-percent go home the same day,” Dr. Newell said.

The new technique will help Doctor Noyes quickly go from patient, back to treating his patients.

It'll take 6 months to a year for Dr. Noyes to get his hand back to normal strength. We talked with him Monday afternoon after his surgery. He said he feels fine and hopes to get back to work Thursday.

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