Is Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Right For You? Talk To Our Minimally Invasive Surgeons Today.
Herniated disc treatments like physical therapy, medication, and spinal injections are effective for most people. But if you’ve tried these treatments and still have back pain, talk to the University Pain Medicine Center team at their office in Murray Hill, New York City, or one of their New Jersey locations about a discectomy. The minimally invasive procedure removes the damaged disc, relieving your pain. To find out more and see if you could benefit from discectomy, call University Pain Medicine Center or book an appointment online today.
Discectomy is a procedure where the University Pain Medicine Center team removes damaged or diseased spinal discs.
The discs between your vertebrae are shock-absorbent cushions. They protect your spine and help to stabilize it. Each disc has a soft center surrounded by a tough outer casing, but if the outer layer experiences damage, core material can squeeze through.
Herniated discs can cause long-term neck or lower back pain if the injured disc presses on or irritates the spinal nerves. You might also experience unpleasant tingling or prickling sensations and issues like weakness and loss of function. These symptoms affect your legs if the herniated disc is in your back and your arms if the damaged disc is in your neck.
Removing the disc resolves the nerve compression and relieves your symptoms. If it’s possible to preserve the injured disc, the University Pain Medicine Center team can perform a microdiscectomy. They use minimally invasive techniques to remove the herniated disc material and free the nerves. If the disc isn’t worth preserving, they extract it entirely.
The University Pain Medicine Center team offers various treatments that relieve pain and restore function for most people with herniated discs. These treatments include conservative approaches like physical therapy and medication and advanced interventions, such as epidural steroid injections and radiofrequency ablation.
However, if these treatments aren’t helping, you might benefit from a discectomy. Your provider at University Pain Medicine Center can give you all the information you need to help you decide if discectomy is right for you.
The University Pain Medicine Center team uses minimally invasive methods to access the disc rather than making large surgical incisions in your spine. They make a small cut in your back and insert a guidewire. Using moving X-ray images, they ease the wire into your spine.
Next, your provider makes more space around the guidewire to create a narrow channel. They view the damaged disc using an endoscope (a tiny camera on a flexible tube) or a surgical microscope. Using specialized instruments that fit into the channel, your provider cuts the disc material and removes it.
To find out more about discectomy and see if you could benefit, call University Pain Medicine Center today or book an appointment online.
