Diskectomy

Alternative Names: Spinal microdiskectomy; Microdecompression; Laminotomy; Disk removal; Spine surgery - diskectomy

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).

Description of Procedure

A surgeon may perform disk removal (diskectomy) in different ways.

• Microdiskectomy: When you have a microdiskectomy, the surgeon does not need to do much surgery on the bones, joints, ligaments, or muscles of your spine.
• Diskectomy in the lower part of your back (lumbar spine) may be part of a larger surgery that also includes a laminectomy, foraminotomy, or spinal fusion.
• Diskectomy in your neck (cervical spine) is most often done along with laminectomy, foraminotomy, or fusion.

Microdiskectomy is done in a hospital or outpatient surgical center. You will be given spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free).

• The surgeon makes a small (1 to 1-1/2 inch) incision (cut) on your back and moves the back muscles away from the spine. The doctor uses a special microscope to see the problem disk or disks and nerves during surgery.
• The surgeon finds the nerve root and moves it away. Then the surgeon removes the injured disk tissue and pieces. The surgeon puts the back muscles back in place, and closes the wound with stitches or staples.
• The surgery takes about 1 to 2 hours.

Diskectomy and laminotomy is done in the hospital, using general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free).

• The surgeon makes a larger cut on your back over the spine. Muscles and tissue are moved to expose your spine.
• A small part of the lamina bone (part of the vertebrae that surrounds the spinal column and nerves) is cut away. The opening may be as large as the ligament that runs along your spine. The surgeon cuts a small hole in the disk that is causing your symptoms and removes material from inside. Other fragments of the disk may also be removed.

Risks of Diskectomy

Risks for any anesthesia are:

• Reactions to medications
• Breathing problems

Risks for any surgery include are:

• Bleeding
• Infection

Risks for this surgery are:

• Damage to the nerves that come out of the spine, causing weakness or pain that does not go away.
• Your back pain does not get better or comes back again later.
• Because of the small surgical cut used in a microdiskectomy, the doctor may miss some disk fragments. This could cause you to continue having pain after surgery.

Herniated nucleus pulposis	Skeletal spine	Spine supporting structures	Cauda equina
Spinal stenosis	Microdiskectomy - series

Review Date: 6/4/2011
Reviewed By: 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.

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