It seems like surgery can be done with the smallest incision these days. But my neighbor had a spinal fusion and ended up with a long scar along the side of her spine. Was that really necessary?

Surgeons continue to look for ways to perform spinal surgery with the least amount of blood loss and damage to the soft tissue structures.

Spinal fusion can require a large incision if more than one level is fused. Sometimes the type of fusion makes a difference. A larger incision may be needed if the disc and joints are removed and hardware is inserted.

The muscles are pulled out of the way. The surgeon needs enough room to do all those things. More recently doctors in Korea tried using a smaller incision. This is called a minimally invasive operation. They inserted screws from both sides to help hold the area stable.

Short-term results were good. If the long-term outcome is equally good, the minimally invasive approach may be used more often.