Spine surgery, seen through a smaller lens.

Our physicians perform ultra-minimally invasive, endoscopic spine surgery — precision procedures through an incision smaller than a dime, built around getting you back to your life fast.

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<1cmTypical endoscopic incision

OutpatientIn many eligible cases

FellowshipTrained in endoscopic spine surgery

Why choose endoscopic

Precision built around getting you back to your life.

Our physicians have completed specialized fellowship training in endoscopic spine surgery. Endoscopic surgery uses a camera about the size of a pencil to reach the same herniated disc or pinched nerve that open surgery reaches, but without cutting through the surrounding muscle to get there.

Learn more about the technique

Smaller footprint.

Less disruption to the surrounding muscle and ligaments than traditional open surgery.

Anesthesia options.

Most cases can be done with a local numbing injection or an epidural, plus light sedation, instead of full general anesthesia.

Outpatient pathway.

Many patients go home the same day, with a recovery plan built around real life.

See the difference

Three ways to reach the same disc — one leaves far less behind.

Tissue volume displaced · most common sizes · 7cm corridor

Tubular (18mm)

~17.8 cm³

Endoscopic (7mm)

~2.7 cm³

~6.6×

less tissue volume than tubular, same 7cm depth

Backed by the research

Similar results, sooner — and with fewer setbacks along the way.

In clinical studies that followed patients for two years, people who had endoscopic surgery ended up with results just as good as people who had open surgery — they just got there with fewer complications, less blood loss, and a quicker return to work.

Fewer complications

Patients had complications about half as often with endoscopic surgery — 5.5%, compared to 10.4% with open surgery.¹

Less blood loss

A review of more than 2,500 patients found significantly less blood loss during endoscopic surgery than open surgery.²

Faster return to work

A 2026 meta-analysis of 17 clinical trials (2,238 patients) found patients returned to work about 22 days sooner, on average, after endoscopic surgery than after open microdiscectomy.³

1. Yang CC, Chen CM, Lin MHC, et al. Complications of Full-Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy versus Open Lumbar Microdiscectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. World Neurosurgery. 2022;168:333–348.
2. Barber SM, Nakhla J, Konakondla S, et al. Outcomes of endoscopic discectomy compared with open microdiscectomy and tubular microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniations: a meta-analysis. Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. 2019;31(6):802–815.
3. Patel S, Nischal SA, Kale KM, et al. Full Endoscopic versus Microscopic Lumbar Discectomy for Lumbar Disc Herniation. Spine. 2026. doi:10.1097/BRS.0000000000005753.
Findings vary across individual studies and surgical technique; outcomes for any individual patient depend on anatomy, diagnosis, and overall health, and are discussed during consultation.

Meet the founder

Shahrukh Bengali, MD

MD · Fellowship-Trained, Endoscopic Spine Surgery

Founder of EMISSC — a fellowship-trained endoscopic spine surgeon with a background in interventional pain management, combining the long-term relationships of pain medicine with the procedural precision of minimally invasive surgery. The goal: help patients get back to what pain has interrupted, through the least invasive path that gets them there.

Meet Our Team

Board certifications & honors

Board Certified — American Board of Anesthesiology
Board Eligible — Pain Medicine
NASS Abstract Reviewer

After completing his interventional pain management fellowship, he trained at the only dedicated 12-month endoscopic spine surgery fellowship in the country at the University of Florida. During his anesthesiology residency there, Dr. Bengali received the Chair's Award for Best Resident and the Michael E. Mahla Exceptional Resident of the Year award, voted on by his co-residents, along with faculty-nominated honors for Outstanding Senior Resident, Outstanding Junior Resident, and Outstanding Achievement in Pain Medicine, plus the Outstanding Resident Educator Award, given annually by the Society of Teaching Scholars.

Conditions we treat

If it's a nerve or a disc, there's usually a smaller way in.

Neck Pain Low Back Pain Herniated / Bulging Disc Sciatica & Nerve Pain Spinal Stenosis (Narrowing) Symptoms After a Prior Surgery See all conditions & procedures →

Your path to care

Three steps between where you are and where you want to be.

Reach out

Fill out our intake form, and our team will reach out to you to gather more information.

Imaging review & consultation

Our team reviews your imaging to see whether an endoscopic approach fits your anatomy, then meets with you in person or by telehealth to review findings, options, and what to expect — plainly.

Schedule

Most endoscopic cases are outpatient, done with local or epidural anesthesia and light sedation instead of general anesthesia.

Common questions

A few things people usually ask first.

A minimally invasive technique that uses a small camera and specialized instruments passed through a single incision — typically under a centimeter — to treat conditions like herniated discs, sciatica, and spinal stenosis without cutting through as much muscle as open surgery requires.

It depends on your imaging and history, not symptoms alone. Good candidates typically have tried conservative care — physical therapy, medications, or injections — without lasting relief, or have new arm or leg weakness from a compressed nerve. Fill out our intake form and we'll follow up.

This is ambulatory surgery — same-day discharge, for both neck and low back surgeries, including more complex adjacent-level or stenosis cases. Most patients are up and walking the same day, with some nerve-related soreness that settles over 1–2 weeks.

Coverage varies by insurer and plan. Our team can help verify benefits once we have your insurance information — reach out through the contact form to get started.

Recurrent or persistent symptoms after a prior surgery — including a fusion, or a procedure done elsewhere — are one of the more common reasons patients reach out. Depending on your anatomy, an endoscopic approach can sometimes still be an option, including at a level next to a prior fusion. Imaging review is the first step.

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