Spine surgery has changed significantly over the years. Advances in surgical techniques, imaging, navigation, and technology have given patients more treatment options, including approaches designed to limit disruption to surrounding anatomy when appropriate. For Dr. Daniel Choi, founder of Spine Medicine & Surgery of New Jersey, innovation is not about adopting new technology simply because it is new. It is about understanding how an advancement may improve the treatment experience, expand available options, and help address the individual needs of each patient. At Spine Medicine & Surgery of New Jersey in Paramus, Dr. Choi brings his experience in minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery to patients throughout Bergen County and surrounding New Jersey communities. For patients, the important question is not necessarily what is the newest technology? It is: How could these advancements make a difference in my treatment and recovery?

How Has Spine Surgery Evolved?

Traditional spine surgery remains an important and appropriate option for many conditions. Innovation does not mean replacing procedures that already work. Instead, advances in spine surgery have created additional ways to approach certain conditions and procedures. Depending on the patient’s diagnosis, m̲i̲n̲i̲m̲a̲l̲l̲y̲ i̲n̲v̲a̲s̲i̲v̲e̲ s̲p̲i̲n̲e̲ s̲u̲r̲g̲e̲r̲y̲ may allow certain procedures to be performed through smaller surgical approaches while limiting disruption to surrounding muscles and tissues. Technology has also changed what surgeons can see and the information available to them during a procedure. Dr. Choi incorporates advanced techniques and technologies, including endoscopic visualization, intraoperative imaging, navigation, robotic-assisted surgery, and motion-preserving procedures, when appropriate for the individual patient. Each advancement serves a different purpose, but together they provide patients with more options for an approach tailored to their condition, anatomy, and goals.

Taking Minimally Invasive Surgery Further With Endoscopic Spine Surgery

One area Dr. Choi has helped advance is endoscopic spine surgery. Endoscopic spine surgery uses a small camera and specialized instruments to directly visualize and treat the surgical area through small access points. Dr. Choi utilizes a technique known as DualPortal endoscopic spine surgery, which separates the viewing portal from the working portal. This allows the surgical area to be visualized through one portal while specialized instruments are used through another. For appropriately selected patients, endoscopic techniques may allow certain procedures to be performed through smaller surgical approaches while limiting disruption to surrounding tissues. The potential benefit is not simply having a smaller incision. It is the ability to appropriately address the underlying spinal condition while potentially reducing the impact of the surgical approach.

Dr. Choi’s Endoscopic Innovation Receives National Recognition

Dr. Choi’s work in endoscopic spine surgery has received national attention. In 2025, Becker’s Spine Review included Dr. Choi in its feature “8 Endoscopic Spine Firsts” after he performed the first endoscopic Barricaid annular closure using a DualPortal approach. During the procedure, Dr. Choi combined Barricaid annular closure with Amplify Surgical’s DualPortal endoscopic system. A 7 mm Barricaid implant was placed through a single incision measuring approximately 1 cm, using advanced imaging and navigation to assist with placement. Read more about Dr. Choi’s recognition for innovation in endoscopic spine surgery. The significance of the procedure goes beyond being a surgical first. It demonstrates how advances in visualization, surgical access, imaging, navigation, and instrumentation can work together to expand what may be possible through a minimally invasive approach. For patients, innovations like these can ultimately mean more ways to approach treatment while still working toward the same goal: appropriately addressing the underlying spinal condition.

Innovation Doesn’t Stop With One Procedure

Dr. Choi’s work in endoscopic spine surgery extends beyond a single procedure or technology. In a second 2025 feature, Becker’s Spine Review spoke with Dr. Choi about his vision for the continued evolution of endoscopic spine surgery, including the expansion of endoscopic techniques into spinal fusion. Dr. Choi discussed endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, or endo-TLIF, along with advances such as expandable interbody technology and biologics-driven fusion. R̲e̲a̲d̲ D̲r̲.̲ C̲h̲o̲i̲’̲s̲ d̲i̲s̲c̲u̲s̲s̲i̲o̲n̲ o̲f̲ t̲h̲e̲ f̲u̲t̲u̲r̲e̲ o̲f̲ e̲n̲d̲o̲s̲c̲o̲p̲i̲c̲ s̲p̲i̲n̲e̲ s̲u̲r̲g̲e̲r̲y̲  He also discussed the potential for advances in endoscopic fusion to expand the types of spine procedures that may eventually be appropriate for ambulatory surgery center settings. Advancing new surgical techniques requires appropriate training, evidence, experience, and patient selection. Dr. Choi’s work reflects an ongoing commitment to evaluating where spine surgery is heading and how those advances can translate into meaningful treatment options for patients. Innovation is a process. New techniques have to be studied, refined, and incorporated responsibly before they become part of routine patient care.

What Does Advanced Spine Technology Actually Mean for Patients?

Terms like robotic surgery, navigation, endoscopy, and motion preservation can sound impressive. But technology only matters when it provides a meaningful benefit for patient care. Depending on the condition being treated, these advances may provide additional options for how surgery is performed and how patients move through treatment and recovery.

How Can Better Visualization Support Treatment?

Endoscopic technology allows the surgical area to be directly visualized through a small camera. For appropriately selected patients, this visualization can help make it possible to perform certain procedures through smaller surgical approaches while still addressing the underlying condition.

How Do Navigation and Imaging Support Precision?

Advanced imaging and navigation provide additional information about a patient’s spinal anatomy during surgery and can help guide certain aspects of a procedure. Dr. Choi incorporates advanced imaging and navigation technologies when appropriate based on the procedure and individual patient’s needs. For patients, these technologies provide additional tools that can help tailor the surgical approach to their specific anatomy and condition.

Can Surgery Be Performed Through a Less Disruptive Approach?

For appropriately selected patients, minimally invasive and endoscopic techniques may allow certain procedures to be performed while limiting disruption to surrounding muscles and tissues. This does not mean the least invasive procedure is automatically the best procedure. The priority remains choosing an approach that appropriately addresses the patient’s condition while considering their individual anatomy, health, needs, and goals.

Can Motion Be Preserved?

Innovation has also expanded options for certain patients who may not require a traditional spinal fusion. For some cervical spine conditions, c̲e̲r̲v̲i̲c̲a̲l̲ d̲i̲s̲c̲ r̲e̲p̲l̲a̲c̲e̲m̲e̲n̲t̲ may provide a motion-preserving alternative to fusion. The benefit is not that one procedure is universally better than another. It is that patients may have more options, allowing treatment to be better matched to their condition, anatomy, and goals.

More Technology Means More Options, Not More Surgery

Having access to advanced surgical technology does not mean every patient who sees Dr. Choi will need surgery. Treatment begins by understanding what is causing the patient’s symptoms. That may involve reviewing imaging, performing a physical examination, discussing previous treatments, and considering how the condition is affecting the patient’s everyday life. For many patients, nonsurgical treatment may remain appropriate. When surgery is necessary, having multiple techniques and technologies available can give patients more options for an approach tailored to their condition, anatomy, and goals. One patient may be best treated with an established surgical approach. Another may be a candidate for minimally invasive surgery, endoscopic decompression, motion preservation, or another advanced technique. The technology does not determine the treatment. The patient’s needs do.

Dr. Daniel Choi’s Approach to Advancing Spine Surgery

Dr. Choi’s work in advancing spine surgery is supported by extensive training in both orthopaedic and spine surgery. He attended Northwestern University for his undergraduate education before earning his medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine through the Honors Program in Medical Education. He then completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, followed by a combined neurosurgical and orthopaedic spine surgery fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School. Today, Dr. Choi is a board-certified orthopaedic spine surgeon and founder of Spine Medicine & Surgery of New Jersey. His work in minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery has continued beyond his formal training, including nationally recognized work demonstrating how advanced technologies and surgical techniques can be combined in new ways. “Innovation only matters if it ultimately improves what we can offer our patients,” says Dr. Daniel Choi. “My goal is to continue finding ways to accomplish the goals of spine surgery while making treatment more precise and less disruptive when appropriate.” For Dr. Choi, continuing to learn, evaluate, and advance surgical techniques means having more options available when a patient needs them.

Bringing Advanced Spine Surgery to Bergen County

National recognition and surgical firsts are exciting, but their real value comes from translating that experience into patient care. At Spine Medicine and Surgery of New Jersey, Dr. Choi brings his experience in advanced, minimally invasive, and endoscopic spine surgery to patients in Paramus, Bergen County, and surrounding New Jersey communities. For patients, that means access to a spine surgeon who is experienced in established surgical approaches while also actively advancing and incorporating newer techniques when they may provide an appropriate benefit. The goal is not to offer new technology simply because it is available. It is to continue expanding what may be possible while maintaining the same fundamental approach: understand the patient’s condition first, then determine which treatment and technique best fit their needs.