Can a Spinal Tumor Be Removed Without an Open Surgery?
April 8, 2026
A spinal tumor diagnosis can be very worrying. The last thing most patients want to hear is that they need major open surgery—weeks in the hospital, months of recovery, and an uncertain road back to the life they had before. But here is what many patients never get the chance to learn: in the right hands, many spinal tumors can be removed with minimally invasive techniques that dramatically reduce recovery time, blood loss, and postoperative pain.
If you have been diagnosed with a spinal tumor in Los Angeles—or suspect you might have one—understanding your surgical options could change everything about your experience.
Spinal tumors are abnormal growths that develop within or near the spinal cord, nerve roots, or vertebral bones. They may be benign (noncancerous) or malignant, and they are classified by their location: extradural (outside the dura, the protective membrane around the spinal cord), intradural-extramedullary (inside the dura but outside the spinal cord itself), or intramedullary (within the spinal cord).
Each type presents different surgical challenges. The location, size, and type of tumor, combined with the surgeon’s training and tools, determines which approach is best. Historically, nearly all spinal tumor surgeries required large incisions, significant muscle disruption, and lengthy hospital stays. That has changed considerably for many patients.
The term gets used frequently, but it is worth understanding what it actually involves. In minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS), surgeons use specialized retractors, high-powered surgical microscopes, and intraoperative imaging to access the spine through much smaller incisions—sometimes less than an inch—rather than the large openings required in traditional open procedures.
For spinal tumor removal, this can mean:
The goal is always a complete and safe tumor removal. The minimally invasive approach simply changes how the surgeon gets there, using precision over brute force.
Not every spinal tumor is a candidate for minimally invasive removal, and honest surgeons will tell you that upfront. Intramedullary tumors (those within the spinal cord itself) often require a more traditional microsurgical approach due to the extreme delicacy of the surrounding tissue. However, a significant portion of the most common spinal tumors are excellent candidates for minimally invasive techniques.
Schwannomas and meningiomas: These are two of the most frequently encountered benign spinal tumors and are often highly amenable to minimally invasive resection when identified early and approached by a surgeon with subspecialty experience. The same is true for many extradural metastatic lesions, where the goal is decompression and stabilization rather than cure.
The determining factors are tumor location and size, involvement with the spinal cord and nerve roots, the patient’s overall health, and critically, the surgeon’s technical training and comfort with advanced visualization and microsurgical tools.
The tools available for minimally invasive tumor removal are impressive. Surgical microscopes with powerful magnification, intraoperative ultrasound and MRI, and neuromonitoring systems can track spinal cord function in real time. But tools are only as effective as the hands using them.
Minimally invasive spinal tumor surgery is technically demanding. The margins for error are narrow, and the consequences of incomplete removal or nerve injury can be severe. This is not a technique that can be learned through general spine surgery training. It requires dedicated subspecialty experience, typically acquired at high-volume academic medical centers where complex tumor cases are regularly performed.
Surgeons who trained in neurosurgery, as opposed to orthopedic spine surgery, typically bring additional depth in the management of tumors that involve the spinal cord and nerve tissue. This distinction matters when the tumor you are dealing with is pressing on the spinal cord or wrapping around a nerve root.
If you are referred to or seeking out a neurosurgeon in Los Angeles for a spinal tumor, the first step is a thorough evaluation, not a rush to the operating room. A quality evaluation will include a detailed review of your MRI (and often additional imaging), a neurological exam, a discussion of your symptoms and functional limitations, and an honest conversation about whether surgery is needed now, later, or potentially not at all.
Some spinal tumors, particularly small, asymptomatic, benign lesions, are best managed with active surveillance and regular monitoring rather than immediate surgery. Others require prompt intervention to prevent permanent neurological damage. Getting that distinction right is where subspecialty expertise earns its value.
At Dr. Luke Macyszyn Neurosurgery, patients in Marina Del Rey and Tarzana have access to this level of evaluation close to home, without the logistics of a major academic hospital.
Ready to understand your options? Schedule a spinal tumor evaluation with Dr. Macyszyn today.
