Patients across South Central Pennsylvania can receive spine surgery through a small incision in their back at WellSpan hospitals across the region, with the expansion of WellSpan’s minimally invasive spine surgery program to WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital in Lancaster County and Parkway Surgery Center, in Hagerstown, Maryland. WellSpan surgeons also perform the procedure in Franklin and York counties.
Minimally invasive spine surgery causes less blood loss, less damage to muscles and tissue, and less use of painkillers afterward, compared to traditional open surgery. For appropriate patients, minimally invasive surgery is an attractive option, allowing them to recuperate quickly and often return home after just one night in the hospital.
Surgeons can perform minimally invasive surgery to treat compressed nerves, herniated discs, or a narrowing of the spinal canal, among other spine problems.
The surgeons who do the minimally invasive surgery, and their locations, include:
- Dr. Ben Roitberg, WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital.
- Drs. Brian Holmes, Neil O’Malley, Charles Winters, and Sandip Savaliya, Parkway Surgery Center. WellSpan recently became a part owner of Parkway.
- Drs. Sandip Savaliya and Matthew Maserati, WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital.
- Drs. Joseph Molenda and Michael Casey, WellSpan York Hospital.
- Dr. Joseph Molenda, WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital.
Carol Miller, of York, said the minimally invasive spine surgery gave her life back to her.
“I am doing excellent,” said Carol, who had the surgery last year. “It definitely was successful for me. I had such terrific back pain and was using a walker. I couldn’t do anything. My life totally stopped.
“Now I am back to doing everything I was before. And I had the surgery through that small incision. I got better so fast. Right after the surgery, I got up and walked.”
Lower back pain causes more disability globally than any other condition, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Learn more about our advanced neurosurgery programs here.
