Rolling admission · Istanbul · Delivered in English
Follow how a spine unit selects patients for endoscopic decompression, plans the approach from imaging and follows recovery — observing endoscopic lists where the department schedules them during your dates.
What you see depends on the department's clinical calendar during your placement; the list below describes the department's usual scope, not a guaranteed programme.
Endoscopic spine surgery is an access route to decompression, not a separate indication. Most patients considered for it have lumbar disc herniation or stenosis causing radicular pain or neurogenic claudication that has not settled with conservative care, and the surgical question is the same as for microscopic or open surgery: which neural structure is compressed, at which level, and by what. The endoscopic question comes next — whether the pathology can be reached and adequately decompressed through a narrow working corridor, and whether the patient's anatomy and imaging favour that route over a microscopic or open approach.
Imaging drives that choice. On MRI the team looks at the level and zone of a herniation — central, paracentral, foraminal or extraforaminal — its degree of migration, and whether stenosis is central, lateral-recess or foraminal; CT adds bony anatomy and calcification. Anatomy matters too: at L5–S1 a high iliac crest can obstruct a transforaminal trajectory, which often favours an interlaminar route. Signs of segmental instability or deformity shift the discussion towards fusion, a different conversation held at the spine board with neurosurgery, orthopaedics, physical medicine and pain management.
In theatre, the endoscopic image is displayed on a monitor, so the operation can be followed closely from outside the sterile field. The team can explain how the working corridor is chosen, how continuous irrigation and haemostasis affect visibility, and how the decompression is judged adequate. Uniportal (full-endoscopic) and biportal endoscopy differ in how the viewing and working channels are arranged; whether either is on the department's lists during your dates is confirmed only after review. Observers then follow mobilisation on the ward and the follow-up conversation in clinic.
Where the spine surgery page describes the whole unit — degenerative, deformity, tumour and trauma work, including instrumented fusion — this page concentrates on endoscopic decompression and the case selection behind it. Endoscopic work at the skull base and stimulation-based functional procedures are separate neurosurgical focuses.
Suits medical students in their clinical years and graduate physicians with an orthopaedic or neurosurgical interest who want to see how a spine unit selects patients for endoscopic decompression and how that choice compares with microscopic and open surgery.
Suits orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons with a specialist qualification who state endoscopic spine surgery as their interest within the spine unit; allocation to endoscopic lists follows the department's schedule over a full clinical cycle.
Both routes are strictly observational: observers attend theatre and clinic without patient contact, do not scrub or assist, and are not assessed on any procedure.
| Clinical Observership | Clinical Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1, 2 or 4 weeks (extension possible on request) | 12 to 24 months, agreed with the host department |
| Who it is for | Medical students in clinical years and graduate physicians from outside Turkey | Recognised specialists and family physicians seeking advanced exposure beyond standard specialty training |
| Format | Full-time, strictly observational — outpatient clinics, operating theatre, ward rounds, case discussions | Extended observational attachment to one department: daily practice, service structure and specific techniques |
| Certificate | Certificate of attendance issued by the host hospital and signed by its Medical Director | Certificate on completion issued under the accreditation of the affiliated university school of medicine |
| Start | Rotations typically begin on a Monday; dates are agreed individually | Start date planned around the date you request and the department's capacity |
One online application for both routes. State Endoscopic Spine Surgery as your focus in your objectives; ATDERA reviews the file and prepares it for the Spine Surgery department, then replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
Already started? The application page picks up where you left off.
ATDERA Global Limited (Companies House No. 17173428, registered in England and Wales) coordinates this programme for a university teaching hospital in Istanbul. ATDERA is not a hospital and does not provide clinical care; admission decisions and certificates are the host hospital's.
One online application covers both routes and all twenty-one specialties — details, programme choice and documents in five short steps. ATDERA reviews the file and replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
