Lee Tutor’s first and second back surgeries were as different as night and day.

Two years ago, Lee struggled with severe back pain from a herniated disc. Spinal discs are essentially elastic rings with soft material inside that serve as cushions between the vertebral bones. If the elastic ring becomes weakened, the soft tissue inside can herniate (rupture) outside of the elastic ring. The herniated disc material can compress the nerves passing by, which causes pain.

When that happened, “It caused severe pain down my right leg,” says Lee, 60, who lives near Aberdeen. “The worst part of it was my leg would go numb all the way down to my foot. I couldn’t use that leg—I basically just had to drag it along. I was told that if I didn’t get it fixed, then I would take a chance that the compressed nerve not ever recovering.”

Lee had back surgery out of state and, while he found relief, he had a relatively big incision and a long recovery.

Last November, Lee felt a familiar twinge--but this time, it was in the other leg. “The pain started in my left leg and was moving down quickly,” Lee says. “Every day I could feel the pain going a little farther down that leg.”

Lee contacted his primary care doctor, Dr. Brad Crosswhite at IMA-Tupelo, for advice. Dr. Crosswhite ordered an MRI and then referred him to North Mississippi Neurosurgical Services.

Practice manager Heather Carter went over and above to get Lee seen quickly. “Heather understood that I was in need,” he says. “She had someone evaluate the MRI quickly so I could be scheduled with the right provider. Within four days, I saw Dr. Elbert White, a neurosurgeon in the clinic, and I was scheduled for surgery early the next week.”

On Dec. 4, 2023, Dr. White performed a surgery known as micro discectomy at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. “I perform a microdiscectomy through a small incision where a metal tube is placed near the bones of the spine,” Dr. White explains. “The tube is placed using dilators so there is no cutting through muscle. Once the tube has been placed near the bones of the spine, I use an operating microscope to see and remove any tissue that is ‘pinching a nerve.’”

Dr. White explains that cutting through muscle causes blood loss and post-operative pain. “Less blood loss and pain means that my patient can get mobile earlier and enjoy a quicker recovery,” he says. “I also feel that a shorter time under anesthesia makes for a faster recovery, especially in older patients.”

Dr. White typically closes the incision with surgical glue, so the patient leaves with no sutures or staples.

“My pain was immediately gone once they got the compression off the nerve,” Lee says. “It was an outpatient procedure, so I got to go home the same day,”

Lee says his first surgery and his second were distinctly different. “I had a very small incision—only about ¾-inch. Last time, my incision was about three inches long,” he says. “After my first surgery, I had to sleep on my stomach for a while because of the drains and pain at the incision site.”

Lee recovered much more quickly than before. “I had very minimal pain at the incision site this time, and I was able to start walking for exercise immediately,” he says. “That’s the best thing for your back. I try to walk three miles three times a week, plus more when I can.”

Now, Lee is back to doing two things he loves—golf and fishing—thanks to minimally invasive back surgery. “I would totally recommend it,” he says.