At this time, we are not a proponent of laser spine surgery as the current application of a laser with spine surgery is merely as a cutting device. This may change in the future as new technology is developed. But at this point, in our opinion, the use of a laser is intended more as a marketing approach to attract patients to a surgery that is not really different from traditional spine surgery.
New “minimally invasive spine surgery” approaches used by spine surgeons can now shorten the incision, lessen time in the hospital, and speed the return to activity with a less painful recovery.
The real area of concern about laser spine surgery, in our opinion, is that the ads encourage people to jump into laser spine surgery when they may not need surgery in the first place.