What you should know about Discectomy

A discectomy is a surgical treatment procedure that is useful in mainly relieving the painful and disabling symptoms that are caused as a result of a pinched nerve in the spinal column due to a herniated (damaged/bulging) inter-vertebral disc.

This surgery aims to remove the damaged portion of the disc from the spinal column. A herniated (bulging) inter-vertebral disc can lead to pain, weakness and numbness, especially in the legs initially, and can spread to the entire body if not treated efficiently.

This is a last-resort treatment in most cases when other alternate treatment methods have failed to relieve the symptoms being caused by the herniated inter-vertebral disc.

Need for Discectomy

The main aim of a discectomy procedure is to provide relief from the intense and constant pain and other disabling symptoms that accompany a herniated (bulging) inter-vertebral disc form the spinal column.

A discectomy will usually be advised if:


  • Patient has trouble standing/walking due to nerve damage
  • Other alternate treatment methods (medication, physiotherapy, etc) have been unsuccessful
  • A disc fragment (bone spur) gets lodged in the spine, causing nerve impingement (pinching)
  • Pain can be felt growing out from the buttocks to the arms and legs or even the chest


Risks associated with Discectomy

Although a discectomy is considered to be an ideally safe procedure, there are rare chances of certain complications that may arise due to the surgical treatment, such as:


  • Infection
  • Bleeding
  • Spinal fluid leakage
  • Nerve damage
  • Vascular (blood vessel) damage

Discectomy procedure

A discectomy will mostly be performed as a major surgical procedure requiring administering general anesthesia to prevent pain and discomfort to the patient during the surgery.

The patient is usually required to lie down on the stomach so the spinal column is easier to access. The surgeon will make incisions as per the requirement of the particular surgery. These incisions are used to gain access to the herniated (damage/bulging) inter-vertebral disc after carefully shifting aside the various back muscles and other soft tissue. The surgeon might also require removing small portions of the spinal column, or certain ligaments, to get access to the damaged disc.

Mostly, the surgeon will only remove the particular piece of inter-vertebral bone that is causing the impingement (pinching) on the spinal nerves, this relieving the constant pain and disability being caused as a result of this pinching of the nerves.

In case the surgeon requires removing the entire inter-vertebral disc, due to extensive damage to it, the surgeon will use a ‘spacer’ (made from grafted bone material/synthetic material) to fill in the gap left by the removed inter-vertebral disc. The surgeon will then ensure that the adjacent inter-vertebral disc can fuse together to restrict its motion, this helps to heal the inter-vertebral bone faster and prompt quicker recovery from the surgery.

This procedure is mostly performed as an outpatient procedure where the patient is allowed to go home the same day after the discectomy surgery in case the surgeon/doctor cannot identify any potential risks of complications.

The doctor will advise the patient to avoid lifting heavy weights and other strenuous exercises for a few weeks after the surgery.

The doctor might also advise a course of physical therapy in order to regain the lost strength and movement in the spine.

Choose Travcure for Efficient and Affordable Discectomy Surgery in India

India is home to the world’s largest network of global-standard tertiary care multi-specialty hospitals and clinics that are spread over all its major cities, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, etc. These are highly-equipped healthcare facilities that are equipped with the latest and most advanced in medical and surgical technology today. These hospitals and clinics are managed by India’s most-experienced and highly-trained medical professionals and specialists who ensure that every patient gets the best and most effectively advanced treatment in India. Travcure is well-connected to this large network of international-quality hospitals and clinics to ensure that every individual patient gets the most effective and affordable discectomy surgery in India.


You can send your queries at: info@travcure.com & https://travcure.com/contact-us/ 

Source:  https://travcure.com/what-you-should-know-about-discectomy/

 

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