Preface

Spinal endoscopy is a technology-driven subspecialty of spinal surgery. The increased clinical traction and acceptance of minimally invasive endoscopic spinal surgery techniques result in successful technology transfers from other industries. Image quality in endoscopy is perceived by magnification, depth of field, resolution, color truth, and high image contrast, as well as low distortion and homogeneous illumination up to the edge of the image. The introduction of HD technology in 2005 to the general consumer market forced endoscope manufacturers to develop endoscopes that provided optimized image quality for the HD Video chain. Some of these technological advancements in 2000 coincided with the introduction of the endoscope into transforaminal spinal surgery. Newer clinical indications for endoscopic spine surgery are aimed to replace traditional translaminar surgeries. This expansion of the endoscopic spinal surgery platform is fueled by technology transfers from the space-, military- or consumer sector developments in the area of illumination, image quality, and high-definition video quality. It also hinges on the development of more durable and stress-resistant spinal endoscopes requiring continued expert surgeon input. Illustrating the application of these technological advancements in endoscopic spine surgery is at the heart of the third volume of the Bentham Series entitled “Contemporary Endoscopic Spine Surgery.”

The editors have come together to develop a multi-authored and clinically focused medical monograph entitled Contemporary Endoscopic Spine Surgery: Advanced Technologies to give the reader a most up-to-date snapshot of the current and future technology advances in spinal endoscopy. The publication is intended for Orthopedic Spine & Neurosurgeons interested in treating common painful conditions of the spine with minimally invasive endoscopic techniques. A wide array of highly timely and clinically relevant topics have been assembled for this purpose. They range from the historical review of intradiscal therapies and foraminoplasty techniques, the discussion of the disruptive approach to personalized pain generator-oriented spine care versus population-based evidenced-based treatment strategies in context with modern clinical classification systems, the application of lasers, radiofrequency, and regenerative medicine strategies, the use of artificial intelligence and decision algorithms employed in the interpretation of advanced imaging studies to more accurately identify pain generators and their management with denervation and surgical strategies, the management of postoperative sequelae and complications, the indications for efficacious use of interspinous implants and fusion techniques, to the cost of implementing and maintaining a clinical endoscopic spine care program and advanced endoscopic technique for the most challenging clinical problems.

Future advances in clinical protocols will likely be driven by higher image quality standards that may provide the basis for artificial intelligence applications in image recognition, robotics, integration and automatization of surgical processes. Contemporary Endoscopic Spine Surgery: Adavanced Technologies was written with these trends in mind. The editors hope that the readers will find it an informative knowledge resource they will continue to revert to when implementing a lumbar endoscopic spinal surgery program in their practice setting.