Recently, Zenya Ito, a prestigious spinal surgery expert from Japan and President of Aichi Spine Hospital, visited the Orthopedics Department of Tenth People's Hospital of Tongji University for an exchange. During his visit, he observed a surgery performed by Professor He Shisheng, who demonstrated advanced decompression and lumbar fusion techniques using a single-port, dual-channel, dual-medium spinal endoscope. Ito was deeply impressed by this innovative minimally invasive technique and expressed plans to promote its use in Japan.

In the surgery, Professor He successfully achieved vertebral canal decompression, nucleus pulposus excision, and cage implantation through a small incision of about 1.5 centimeters. The procedure, performed with the single-port, dual-channel, dual-medium spinal endoscope, was swift, efficient, and clear. It was notably faster than previous minimally invasive surgeries, approaching the speed of conventional open surgeries, but with far less trauma to the patient. Postoperative recovery was smooth. After witnessing the surgery, Ito shared his admiration for the technique on his social media, and Professor Chen Jianmin, Chairman of the Taiwan Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, praised the technique, calling for its wider adoption both domestically and internationally.

The single-port, dual-channel, dual-medium spinal endoscope technique is a groundbreaking advancement in spinal endoscopy. Unlike MED, interlaminar endoscopy, and UBE, it introduces the innovative concept of a single-port, dual-channel endoscope that uses both air and water media to address challenges such as bleeding and efficiency in complex spinal surgeries. This concept led to the creation of the world’s first single-port, dual-channel, dual-medium spinal endoscope system, along with a standardized surgical method for its use. This technology has broad potential and represents a significant evolution of existing spinal endoscopy techniques.

Aichi Spine Hospital has already set up a training center for this technique, and in March this year, a new training center will open at Phramongkutklao Hospital in Thailand to further expand cooperation in healthcare under the Belt and Road Initiative.