How is the YESS procedure different from Laser Surgery or a Microdiscectomy?
A Microdiscectomy is very similar to the YESS procedure but it is done via straight back (posterior) approach. This means that the surgeon will have to go through the back wall (lamina) of the diseased segment, potentially causing instability of the segment. A second difference is that the recovery from a discectomy or laminectomy will be much longer and slower. The biggest difference between the YESS procedure and Laser surgery to the spine is that during the Laser surgery, there is no direct visualization of the surgical area, affecting the outcome of the procedure. The Laser is also used during the YESS procedure. So the YESS procedure is the Laser procedure with better visualization since an endoscope is used.
