Phone: 479.571.7070 Fax: 479.571.7090
Spine
Advanced Spine Surgery
Nuvasive® XLIF – Innovative Spine Surgery
James Blankenship, M.D., F.A.C.S.S., F.A.C.S., is Northwest Arkansas' exclusive provider of the Nuvasive® XLIF procedure - one of the most innovative spine surgery technologies available today.
XLIF - or eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion - is an innovative approach to spine fusion, accessing the spine from the side of the body instead of the front or back like traditional methods. The spine can be approached from the mid-thoracic spine to the L4-5 disc space in the lower back. This side entry means sensitive back muscles are not disturbed and no bone removal is required. This means less postoperative pain and early return to normal function. By avoiding a direct frontal approach, there is less risk of injury to structures in the abdomen such as the large blood vessels, bowel, and the kidney draining tubes.
Because there is little muscle dissection, less bone work and smaller incisions, there is less blood loss, less operative time, and less pain to the patient as compared to standard open spine surgery.
Since the XLIF uses small incisions and the MAXCESS system to access the spine, Dr. Blankenship generally performs the procedure with only an overnight stay. Depending on your general health and other factors, a same day discharge to home is also possible.
The procedure is done under general anesthesia. After you are asleep, you will be placed on your side on a special spine surgery bed and an X-ray will be taken of your spine to show Dr. Blankenship the location of the operative disc space. Your skin will be marked to show the site for the side incision. Before any surgical incision is made, Dr. Blankenship will perform a spinal injection to bathe the nerves in the spine in narcotics to allow pre-emptive analgesia to occur.
Dr. Blankenship will then make a small incision on your side, and using his finger will guide tubular dilators into position moving between, not through, the abdomen and the spinal muscles. As he advances the tubes through the psoas muscle on the side of your vertebrae X-ray and NeuroVision® nerve monitoring help guide him to the correct position on your spine and away from nearby nerves.
Once the dilators are in place, Dr. Blankenship will insert the MAXCESS retractor over them to provide lighted visibility and instrument access to the disc space. With the disc now visible and all nerves in the muscle safely retracted, Dr. Blankenship will remove the disc and prepare the disc space for fusion. He'll then place a large stabilizing implant into the empty disc space to restore the proper height and support the loads put on that spinal segment. A titanium plate will frequently be placed over the implant to stabilize the construct. When the implant and plate is in position, the retractor is removed and final confirmation X-rays are taken. Dr. Blankenship will close the small skin incisions with a few stitches that are under the skin. No dressing is required.
Generally speaking, since the XLIF procedure requires less physical trauma than standard techniques, most patients will have a speedier recovery and be able to resume normal activities in a shorter period of time.
Procedures & Diagnosis
Sometimes conservative treatment simply isn't enough. Sometimes the pain is so great that patients may elect to undergo spinal surgery.
At Physicians' Specialty Hospital, we provide hope and help to people suffering from chronic pain due to a spinal injury or condition.
In fact, through our dedication to the latest technology and the latest advances in the field of spine surgery, we can help dramatically improve patient quality of life. In addition to being the only neurosurgeon in Northwest Arkansas to perform the innovative XLIF technique, Dr. Blankenship also performs six other advanced procedures to treat any type of spinal conditions. Each is performed in such a way to help ensure patients get back to normal as quickly as possible.
Other procedures performed include:
- TLIF (Tranforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion)
- Cervical Stenosis and Myelopathy
- Spinal Fusion
- Herniated Lumbar Disc
- Herniated Cervical Disc
- Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
