Discectomy

What is Discectomy surgery?

Discectomy surgery is a procedure to remove the affected part of your spine’s herniated disk. It is best used to treat pain that radiates your arms or legs.

In these different ways the surgeon can perform disk removal:

• The surgery does not take place on your bones, joints, ligaments, or muscle spinal cords when you have a microdiscectomy.
• Discectomy on the lower back portion of your body may also involve laminectomy, foraminotomy, or a spinal fusion in a larger surgery.
• The most common form of discectomy in your neck is laminectomy, foraminotomy, or fusion.

What are the symptoms leading to the doctor’s recommendation – Discectomy treatments?

• Pain
• Numbness
• Weakness
• Burning sensations
• Tingling

Evaluations for Discectomy

• X-rays
• CT scan
• MRI

Discectomy Treatments:

Usually, the surgeons use general anesthesia to perform a discectomy.

Types of Discectomy Surgery:

• Open discectomy – The surgeon makes an incision for a clear overview of the disc during this sort of surgery. The surgical instruments are then used to cut off part of the disk. Open discectomy often involves a procedure called laminectomy in which the exterior arch of the vertebra is removed.
• Microdiscectomy – The doctor will make a tiny incision in the back during microdiscectomy and will insert instruments to view the disk by video. A small portion of a lamina is also removed by the surgeon in order to make the disk visible. The doctor then cuts off a part of the disk after observation, just as they would be with a standard discectomy. The difference is that they can operate with a smaller incision by microdiscectomy.
• Percutaneous discectomy – The surgeon makes a tiny incision in percutaneous discectomy. The X-rays then are used, which are called a fluoroscope, to guide a slim tube into the body of the herniated disk through the incision. Surgical devices are then inserted by the surgeon through the pipe to remove disk content to prevent pressure from adjacent nerves. In order to conduct percutaneous discectomies, different methods are used. They include the removal of disk content with lasers rather than operating instruments, injection of a chemical that dissolves the material of the disk, or treating heat or radio waves inside the disk to shrink it.

Estimated Costs