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Herniated Disk Surgery
Conservative treatments are usually attempted for six months before discussing surgical options. Herniated disk surgery is only discussed if the affected disk is showing no signs of improvement and the patient’s life is being dramatically affected. Herniated disk surgery is considered an elective surgery. Recommended herniated disk surgery is often in the form of major open back surgery which is accompanied by high risks, sometimes lengthy hospitalization, and a long recovery time. It is also important to note that the decision to undergo herniated disk surgery should not be taken lightly as there is a small chance that the surgery may fail and make your situation more complicated.
With the advancements that we have seen in modern medicine there are new minimally invasive treatments available that require less recovery time, lower pain during recovery and can be performed in an outpatient surgical setting.
Minimally Invasive Herniated Disk Back Surgery
Percutaneous endoscopic discectomy - minimally invasive laser assisted surgery that is performed to remove the herniated or bulging disk material that is compressing and aggravating the affected nerve root.
Are you a candidate for minimally invasive spine surgery? After a doctor has looked over your patient history and performed a physical examination with an MRI or CT scan and there is indication of a herniated disk that has not ruptured a percutaneous endoscopic discectomy procedure can be recommended. If you are not a good candidate for a percutaneous endoscopic discectomy you may still be a qualified candidate for other minimally invasive procedures such as a foraminotomy to relieve your back pain problems.
A percutaneous endoscopic discectomy takes advantage of X-ray monitoring and makes use of fiber optics which displays real time results on a monitor providing the surgeon with the highest chance of successfully correcting your herniated disk.
How a Percutaneous Endoscopic Discectomy is Performed
A local anesthetic is administered to the patient to numb the area where the procedure will be performed. Once the patient is “numbed up” the surgeon will make a small incision and insert a small round Depuy tube into the patient. Inserting a tube like this will push the muscles and tissues out of the way instead of cutting and tearing them, causing less internal scar tissue formation.
Through the working tube the surgeon will be able to insert a laser, camera, suction, irrigation and various other surgical tools. The main goal of the herniated disk surgery is for the surgeon to utilize the laser and vaporize problematic disk material. As this material is removed, patients often will feel an instant feeling of relief from their herniated disk pain. When the surgeon is confident his work is finished, the working tube is removed and the muscles are allowed to return to the original position. Sometimes patients will not even require a stitch, although it is not unheard of to need one or two of them.
A percutaneous endoscopic discectomy procedure lasts form thirty to forty five minutes. After the procedure the patient is monitored for one to two hours and then released into the custody of their companion.
The following day the patient receives a post-operative consultation and if everything is healing fine they are allowed to return home.
Advantages to minimally invasive herniated disk surgery:
- Outpatient surgical setting
- No general anesthesia
- No spine fusion
- Minimally invasive
- High success rate
- Quick healing allows patients to start enjoying life again fast
- Internal scar tissue formation is kept to a minimal