Joaquim Santos, aged 60, recalls the incapacitating pain and tingling that he suddenly felt along his left leg, after “hurting it somehow.” He went to the doctor, at Hospital da Luz Arrábida, and the diagnosis and advice of orthopedist Maia Gonçalves didn’t take long: a herniated lumbar disc originated by a ruptured disc between the vertebrae, which affected the nerve root in the leg, surgery being the most adequate clinical option. Following the proposal of the surgeon, Joaquim Santos was submitted to spine surgery using an innovative less “invasive” technique that causes less pain and potentiates a faster recovery: biportal endoscopic surgery. “It made me as good as new. Great!”, assures the entrepreneur owner of a racing kart team. A day of hospitalization – the day of surgery – was sufficient, along with certain precautions in the weeks that followed: “I had to wear a belt, some kind of vest to keep my spine stable, and could not drive. Presently, I do my normal life with no problem but avoiding lifting heavy things around”. Maia Gonçalves explains the process and the advantages of biportal endoscopic surgery: “Is an innovative surgical technique, devised in South Korea, where we went to see how it was done. The procedure is minimally invasive, similarly to what we already do in shoulder and knee surgery: a high-resolution camera (endoscope) is inserted in the spine.” “Contrary to traditional/conventional surgery, requiring a large incision, this only requires two punctures. Being less invasive, there is a lower risk of infection, less trauma for tissues and muscles, and recovery is faster with reduced hospitalization period.” “It can be used in more common pathologies, namely disc herniation and narrow channels needing decompression, but also in selected cases of spinal fusion. In that sense, a prior evaluation is conducted in consultation and the necessary complementary diagnostic exams are carried out. When the patient meets the requirements to be intervened by this route, a proposal is presented, and all the procedures are explained. About 20% of the spine surgeries we perform are already conducted by biportal endoscopy.” “It requires specific learning and training of surgeons, which was accomplished by every surgeon integrating the Spine Unit of Hospital da Luz Arrábida. In fact, we are already providing training to professionals from other institutions.” “It started to be applied at Hospital da Luz Arrábida in 2024, with around a hundred spine surgeries having already been conducted using this technique.” This is another technique pioneered by Hospital da Luz Arrábida, similarly to what happened previously concerning spine navigation surgery and tubular dilation surgery. Assessment and diagnosis of spine diseases is carried out in Orthopedics consultation . Schedule your appointments at app MY LUZ or web version of MY LUZ .
