Endoscopic spinal surgery treats pain causes and allows faster recovery.

By BECKY GILLETTE

Chad E. Campion, MD, a spine surgery specialist with Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics, is the only surgeon in the region to provide minimally invasive endoscopic spinal surgery and its multiple advantages. A small incision of only 8 millimeters is used to insert a camera and surgical tools to repair spinal issues.  

“It is a similar idea to rotator cuff and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgeries. These used to be performed through large incisions. Now, they can be done using a very small incision and a camera,” Campion said. “Adapted to spine surgery, I can address problems like sciatica or a herniated disk. With a herniated disk, we make a small incision to insert the camera and a surgery tool to remove the herniation and fix that. It takes almost no time for patients to recover. It is so much better than traditional surgery because there is less bleeding, less pain and a lower risk of an infection. It also reduces the chance of additional problems requiring more surgery.”

Pain from spinal problems can greatly diminish people’s quality of life, preventing them from working, enjoying their family and social lives, and being able to exercise in ways that promote strength and cardio health. Campion finds it very rewarding to see patients go from being disabled to quickly regaining their health and mobility.

Campion, who is on the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, said this can be an option for people who would otherwise need fusion surgery, a procedure that links two vertebrae together to improve stability and reduce pain. But fusion surgery is not always 100 percent effective in eliminating pain and carries more risk of infection. His partners will often send him patients who would benefit from the alternative to fusion surgery.

For older people more at risk from adverse effects from being under general anesthesia, endoscopic surgery is particularly useful.

“It is a huge deal for people, especially older people, with stenosis, a tightness around the nerves in the back that they may have had for a long time,” Campion said. “The open surgery for that works well but requires more time to recover. People tell me that the day after endoscopic surgery, they are back to doing what they need to do. It is a big deal for people. Endoscopic surgery can even use twilight or minimal sedation. It is like you are taking a nap, and there is no breathing tube stuck down the patient’s throat. Other options for sedation can include an epidural or spinal block.”

The shorter recovery time is also critical for younger people, including those whose spinal problems like disk herniation leave them unable to work, help with children and household chores, and enjoy their recreational activities.

Endoscopic surgery is more expensive, but patients and their insurance companies are billed the same as for traditional open surgery.

“The only person who sees the increased cost for using the camera is Campbell Clinic,” Campion said. “We pay more to do the endoscopic surgery but are willing to absorb the extra cost because my partners and I feel this is the better way to do the surgery. Besides the additional cost, the number two reason for this not being adopted more widely is the large amount of training needed and the difficult learning curve associated with it. I had to go to several different training sessions and observe other surgeons. It is a difficult surgery to perform. It is very different from other surgeries that we do. Once or twice a month, I go teach other surgeons how to do this. There is still only a small community of physicians who do this kind of surgery. Vanderbilt is the closest.”

Campion and his surgical team have been doing endoscopic spinal surgeries for two years now, operating on about 275 patients thus far—between three and ten a week. Campion said the experience he and his team have from doing this hundreds of times means better outcomes for patients.

“Everyone on my team is in tune with what I’m doing and what I need,” he said. “I’ve got a great team to work with.”

Right now, the problem is a lot of people don’t realize this option exists. Campion believes as people become more aware of it, they will travel around the country seeking this option rather than doing the traditional surgeries.

One important advantage, Campion said, is that it can be used for patients who can’t risk traditional surgery because of medical problems. “My partners send me people they otherwise can’t operate on,” Campion said.   

Campion sees patients in three Campbell Clinic locations: Germantown, Arlington, and Oxford. He operates at the Campbell Clinic Wolf River outpatient surgery center as well as numerous area hospitals.

Campion graduated from the Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School in 2015 and did his orthopedic residency at the Campbell Clinic from 2015-2020. Following residency, he did a fellowship in spine surgery at Norton-Leatherman Spine Center, Louisville, Kentucky.

Campion grew up in a small town in New Jersey and finds Germantown not that different. “Now it is home,” he said. “It is where I have lived for the past ten years. It was not a big change for me from the small town in New Jersey where I grew up.”  

Campion and his wife, Mary Katherine, live in Germantown with their son, Wells, who is one, and they are expecting a daughter, Lane, to be born at the end of the year. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, and visiting his family in New Jersey. He enjoys hunting and playing golf. He makes it a priority to exercise regularly, including working out with weights and running to stay in good shape and release some stress.