Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital Achieves 500 Cases of Bidirectional Endoscopic 'Yochubu' Spine Surgery

Catholic University Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital announced on the 5th that it has achieved 500 cases of 'biportal endoscopic lumbar spine surgery.'

Professor Jo Jeong-gi of the Neurosurgery Department at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital is performing a bi-directional endoscopic lumbar spine surgery.
[Photo by Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital]

Biportal endoscopic spine surgery is a surgical method that combines the advantages of conventional open spine surgery and endoscopic spine surgery. Unlike unipolar (single-port) endoscopic spine surgery, which operates through a single channel, biportal surgery uses two channels: one for the endoscope and the other for surgical instruments. This allows for more freedom during surgery and the use of more powerful surgical tools, enabling a wider variety and larger scale of surgeries compared to unipolar surgery.

Since performing its first biportal endoscopic spine surgery in 2018, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital reached 500 cases of lumbar surgeries by the end of last month. The total number of biportal endoscopic spine surgeries performed has reached 700 cases. Additionally, unipolar endoscopic spine surgeries, which have been performed since 2017 mainly for lumbar disc herniation surgeries, have exceeded 300 cases.

Biportal endoscopic spine surgery results in smaller surgical wounds and less damage to surrounding tissues, leading to less postoperative pain compared to conventional surgeries. The surgical site is magnified more than 10 times, allowing ultra-close manipulation that minimizes nerve damage and unnecessary tissue removal. Professor Cho Jeong-gi, a neurosurgeon, stated, "Biportal endoscopic spine surgery is technically challenging and has not yet become widespread in Korea," adding, "As Korea rapidly enters an aging society, this new surgical method will be a breakthrough for treating elderly spine patients."