Percutaneous discectomy for a herniated discSurgery Overview
Percutaneous means "through the skin" or
using a very small incision. Discectomy is the surgical removal of herniated
disc material that presses on a
nerve root or the spinal cord. Percutaneous discectomy is different from conventional open discectomy or
microdiscectomy. There are several percutaneous procedures. All of them involve
inserting small instruments between the vertebrae and into the middle of the
disc. X-ray monitoring is used during surgery to guide the movement of the
surgical instruments. The surgeon can remove disc tissue by cutting it out,
sucking out the center of the disc, or by using lasers to burn or evaporate the
disc. The disc material that has herniated is not directly removed in these
operations. This procedure is usually done in a surgery center
using either
local or general anesthesia. Before
surgery, your doctor will confirm that a
herniated disc is causing your symptoms by using an
imaging study, such as
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
computed tomography (CT scan), or
myelogram.
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