Diskectomy is surgery to remove all or part of a cushion that helps protect your spinal column. These cushions, called disks, separate your spinal bones (vertebrae).
When one of your disks herniates (moves out of place), the soft gel inside pushes through the wall of the disk. The disk may then place pressure on the spinal cord and nerves that are coming out of your spinal column.
Alternative NamesSpinal microdiskectomy; Microdecompression; Laminotomy; Disk removal; Spine surgery - diskectomy
DescriptionA surgeon may perform disk removal (diskectomy) in different ways.
Microdiskectomy is done in a hospital or outpatient surgical center. You will be given spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free).
Diskectomy and laminotomy is done in the hospital, using general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free).
Diskectomy is done when a herniated disk makes you have:
If you are having problems with your bowels or bladder, or the pain is so bad that strong pain drugs do not help, you will probably have surgery right away.
Most other people with low back or neck pain, numbness, or even mild weakness are often first treated without surgery. Anti-inflammatory medications [such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn)], physical therapy, and exercise are often first treatments. Over time, many of the symptoms of low Back pain caused by a herniated disk often get better or go away without surgery.
You should talk with your doctor about what is right for you.
RisksRisks for any anesthesia are:
Risks for any surgery include are:
Risks for this surgery are:
Always tell your doctor or nurse what drugs you are taking, even drugs or herbs you bought without a prescription.
During the days before the surgery:
On the day of the surgery:
Your doctor or nurse will ask you to get up and walk around as soon as your anesthesia wears off. Most people go home the day of surgery. Do NOT drive yourself home.
Outlook (Prognosis)Most people have pain relief and can move better after surgery. Numbness and tingling should get better or disappear. Your pain, numbness, or weakness may NOT get better or go away if your disk damaged your nerve before surgery.
Talk with your doctor about how to prevent future back problems.
ReferencesChou R, Loeser JD, Owens DK, Rosenquist RW, et al; American Pain Society Low Back Pain Guideline Panel. Interventional therapies, surgery, and interdisciplinary rehabilitation for low back pain: an evidence-based clinical practice guideline from the American Pain Society. Spine. 2009;34(10):1066-77.
Chou R, Qaseem A, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: a joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147(7):478-491.
Gregory DS, Seto CK, Wortley GC, Shugart CM. Acute lumbar disk pain: navigating evaluation and treatment choices. Am Fam Physician. 2008;78(7):835-842.
Williams KD, Park AL. Lower back pain and disorders of intervertebral discs. In: Canale ST, Beatty JH, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2007:chap 39.
Diskectomy is surgery to remove all or part of a cushion that helps protect your spinal column. These cushions, called disks, separate your spinal bones (vertebrae).
Alternative NamesSpinal microdiskectomy; Microdecompression; Laminotomy; Disk removal; Spine surgery - diskectomy
DescriptionA surgeon may perform disk removal (diskectomy) in different ways.
Microdiskectomy is done in a hospital or outpatient surgical center. You will be given spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia(asleep and pain-free).
Diskectomy and laminotomy is done in the hospital, using general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free).
When one of your disks herniates (moves out of place), the soft gel inside pushes through the wall of the disk. The disk may then place pressure on the spinal cord and nerves that are coming out of your spinal column.
Many of the symptoms caused by a herniated disk get better or go away over time without surgery. Most people with low back or neck pain, numbness, or even mild weakness are often first treated with anti-inflammatory medicines, physical therapy, and exercise. Only a few people with a herniated disk need surgery.
Your doctor may recommend a diskectomy if you have a herniated disk and:
If you are having problems with your bowels or bladder, or the pain is so bad that strong pain drugs do not help, you will probably have surgery right away.
RisksRisks for any anesthesia are:
Risks for any surgery include are:
Risks for this surgery are:
Always tell your doctor or nurse what drugs you are taking, even drugs or herbs you bought without a prescription.
During the days before the surgery:
On the day of the surgery:
Your doctor or nurse will ask you to get up and walk around as soon as your anesthesia wears off. Most people go home the day of surgery. Do NOT drive yourself home.
Outlook (Prognosis)Most people have pain relief and can move better after surgery. Numbness and tingling should get better or disappear. Your pain, numbness, or weakness may not get better or go away if your had nerve damage before surgery or if you have symptoms caused by other spinal conditions.
Further changes may occur in your spine over time and new symptoms may occur.
Talk with your doctor about how to prevent future back problems.
ReferencesChou R, Loeser JD, Owens DK, Rosenquist RW, et al; American Pain Society Low Back Pain Guideline Panel. Interventional therapies, surgery, and interdisciplinary rehabilitation for low back pain: an evidence-based clinical practice guideline from the American Pain Society. Spine. 2009;34(10):1066-77.
Chou R, Qaseem A, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: a joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147(7):478-491.
Gregory DS, Seto CK, Wortley GC, Shugart CM. Acute lumbar disk pain: navigating evaluation and treatment choices. Am Fam Physician. 2008;78(7):835-842.
Williams KD, Park AL. Lower back pain and disorders of intervertebral discs. In: Canale ST, Beatty JH, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2007:chap 39.
Jegede KA, Ndu A, Grauer JN. Contemporary management of symptomatic lumbar disc herniations. Orthop Clin North Am. 2010 Apr;41(2):217-24.
Reviewed ByReview Date: 06/04/2011
David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Disk removal
Diskectomy
The surgical removal of a portion of an intervertebral disk
True
The surgical removal of a portion of an intervertebral disk
63042
The most common risk of the surgery is infection, which occurs in 1-2% of cases
The patient is given an injection an hour before the surgery to dry up internal fluids and encourage drowsiness
The aim of the surgery is to try to relieve all pressure on nerve roots by removing the pulpy material from the disk, or the disk itself
If surgery and medication have not worked, and you are looking for something new, I would recommend a visit to a reputable doctor of chiropractic.
I had back surgery Oct. 30, 2007 (diskectomy L3/L4). While is have been off work, I have received a check from the company insurance company that is 60% of my full pay. However, you should know that NO taxes are taken out of the 60% and that you will NOT HAVE TO PAY ANY TAXES ON THIS INCOME EITHER TO STATE OR FEDERAL AT THE END OF THE TAX YEAR. In other words, I receive 60% of my regular gross pay and pay NO taxes on this income. This is in South Carolina.
Absolutely - it affects your ability to heal properly. Depending on the procedure (if there's bone involved or if it was just a micro-diskectomy), any smoker, whether it be tobacco or grass, will take longer to heal. In many cases when a fusion is involved, a bone growth stimulator may be ordered by the surgeon for the patient to be worn for the 3 months minimum it takes a normal person (non-smoker) to fully fuse bone. The reason behind this is that smoking reduces the amount of oxygen available to your bloodstream, and it's that O2 rich blood that is key to bone and tissue healing. The lower your oxygen content, the longer it will take to heal. So even if you had a procedure not involving bone, you're still going to take longer to heal if you keep smoking grass, as it actually reduces the O2 in your system even more than tobacco does. If you're smoking due to increased pain and the stuff your doctor gave you isn't cutting it, document your pain with a pain diary (you can get one at Painfoundation.org, or just make one yourself - formal ones are better though) over time so that you can show evidence that you're having pain that your meds aren't dealing with. Without it, you can just look like someone wanting stronger pain drugs, and trust me, you don't want that label, whether true or not. Raven