Treatments | Interventional Pain Management

Percutaneous Discectomy

In the past, the only treatment option available to decompress a slipped or herniated disc was open surgery requiring a large incision. Advancements in surgery have led to much less invasive techniques, and one of these is known as percutaneous discectomy. This procedure can only be performed on a disc that has not yet ruptured the outer wall of the disc; the herniation must be contained. Patients with narrowing of the spinal canal or those with fragments of the disc in the canal are not candidates for this procedure. Percutaneous discectomy is performed through the skin and utilizes only a small incision. The herniated disc material that is compressing the spinal cord or nerve root is removed, relieving the pressure.