• Alberto Gotfryd, DuarteMatias PereiraMPOrthopedic Department, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Rosario, Argentina., Daniel Raskin, Cristian Correa, Facundo Van Isseldyk, and Alfredo Guiroy.
• Locomotor Department, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil; Santa casa de São Paulo Medical School and Hospitals, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: albertocoluna@yahoo.com.br.
• World Neurosurg. 2024 May 1; 185: 555955-59.

ObjectivesWe sought to explore the barriers and limitations preventing the widespread use of tubular lumbar spine decompressions in Latin America.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed using a survey designed specifically by the authors. This survey was mailed to all spine surgeons who are members of AO Spine Latin America. Eighty-seven surgeons spanning 15 Latin American countries answered the survey.ResultsThirty-one percent of participating surgeons claimed they needed to adapt their technique to perform minimally invasive tubular surgeries. Meanwhile, though 70.5% answered they do not consider tubular surgery expensive, 32.8% lacked access to standard equipment like a complete set of retractors or curved high-speed drill.ConclusionsSeveral barriers limit the development of tubular spine surgery in Latin America. The most important discrepancies between surgeons' preferred equipment and their availability for such operations are high-speed drills, bayoneted instruments, and hemostatic agents.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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