Emerging Technologies in Spine Surgery

The past several decades have brought the emergence of many advances in surgery of the spine. The more exciting and promising advances in spine surgery involve minimally invasive surgery, disc nucleus replacement and biologics. Minimally invasive surgery has expanded its procedures to include the extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) and transacral L5-S1 intervertebral discectomy and fusion (AxiaLIF). Intervertebral nucleus replacement has several devices currently undergoing investigation. Bone morphogenic proteins are currently available tools for reconstruction and regeneration in a new and rapidly evolving area of spinal surgery. Bone morphogenic proteins have also been investigated in the treatment of disc degeneration in an effort to slow or reverse the degenerative process. These newly emerging technologies in spine surgery are the focus of this article.