Background, techniques, applications, current trends, and future directions of minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery: A review of literature

Table 1 Chronological timeline showing the technical and procedural advancements of endoscopic spine surgery

Decades	Events
1930’s	1931: Burman's “myeloscopies” in cadavers, successfully visualized the spinal cord and the nerve roots
	1936: Stern's development of new instrumentation, termed “spinascope”
	1938: Pool's myeloscopies through incisions “not over 2.5 mm”, visualized the nerve roots in great detail
1940’s-1950’s	Technological advancements in optical lens systems and the development of fiber-optics
1960’s	1963: Smith's injection of chymopapain intradiscally called "chemonucleolysis", led to “intradiscal decompression"
1970’s	1973: Kambin's and Gellmann's feasibility study of mechanical nuclear debulking by inserting Craig cannula via posterolateral approach
	1975: Hijikata preformed first percutaneous nucleotomy (posterolateral approach, < 2.6 mm)
	1977-1978: Gazi and Caspar introduced microsurgical techniques
1980’s	1982: Harms and Rolinger introduced transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions
	1983: Forst's and Hausman's introduction of arthroscopy into intervertebral disc space
	1986: Kambin further developed percutaneous discectomy
	1988: Kambin;s first endoscopy view of herniated nucleus pulposus
	1989: Schreiber, Suezawa, and Leu were the first preformed percutaneous nucleotomy under visual control and endoscope (discoscopy)
1990’s	1990: Kambin created, "Kambin Triangle", a percutaneous technique
	1990: Spine surgeons started doing minimally invasive spine surgery by magnification loupe or under microscope
	1991: Kambin and Sampson developed cannula (10 mm-23 mm) for interlaminar and transforaminal endoscopy
	1996: (Foraminoscopy) Matthew's preformed a more lateral mass route and prefomed foraminal epidural endoscopic surgery
	1997: Yeung had designed YESS endoscope and developed technique of “inside out” technique
	1998: (Foraminoascopy) Ditsworth's preformed endoscopic transforaminal procedure
	1998: Harms described the first TLIF approach as an open technique
	1998: Destandau and Foley developed tubular retractor system and endoscopy aided spine surgery through interlaminar approach
2000’s	2003: Hoogland introduced the outside- in technique using transforaminal approach
	2005-2006: Rutten and Choi extended indications and developed interlaminar endoscopic discectomy
2010’s	2013: Choi presented work flow to avoid risk of exiting root injury, a step forward in endoscopic spinal surgery

TLIF: Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.