Minimally Invasive Spinal Treatment (MIST)—a New Concept in the Treatment of Spinal Diseases Ⅱ

Dear Colleagues,

Due to an aging population and the needs of patients with spinal disorders, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques are gaining popularity. MIS is a widely developing field that has the potential to decrease surgical risks and improve recovery, compared with traditional open spinal surgery. MIS techniques were initially applied to spinal decompression surgeries, with specific examples being microendoscopic discectomy (MED) and full-endoscopic surgery (FES). To date, these endoscopic surgeries have been widelypracticed and combined with various surgical procedures, including laminectomy, laminoplasty, and foraminotomy. During the last decade, MIS techniques have also been applied to spinal fusion or stabilization techniques, which are classified as minimally invasive spine stabilization (MISt) procedures and include percutaneous pedicle screw (PPS) fixation, lateral lumbar interbody fusion, balloon kyphoplasty, percutaneous vertebroplasty, interspinous process motion-sparing implant, cortical bone trajectory, and cervical total disc replacement. In particular, procedures that involve PPS are practiced widely, such as MIS-transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) and MIS long fixation. Although MIS procedures provide many advantages, they are associated with several problems and limitations, including technical difficulties, training opportunities, and radiation exposure, among others. These downsides of surgical treatments make conservative treatments a more feasible option. The field has witnessed advancements in pharmacological treatments, biologics, and rehabilitation therapy. During and after the coronavirus pandemic, spinal surgeons should consider not only various MIS surgical techniques, but also medical expenses and the use of conservative treatment. The concept of such a treatment strategy has been recently proposed as “minimally invasive spinal treatment (MIST)”.

Dr. Ken Ishii
Dr. Haruki Funao
Dr. Tadatsugu Morimoto
Dr. Koji Akeda
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Medicina is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.