The first academic program in endoscopic spine surgery in the United States opened its doors at Rhode Island Hospital in 2012. Published advances in the field since its inception have included treatments for a myriad of pathologies including lumbar and thoracic disc herniations, spondylolisthesis, spine tumors as well as treatments for complications of other spinal procedures including spinal fusion, kyphoplasty, and total disc replacement. In this issue of the Rhode Island Medical Journal we summarize the history of the procedure as well as some of the interesting progress going on in this field in Rhode Island. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-06.asp].
Keywords: endoscopic discectomy; minimally-invasive; transforaminal.