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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Diskectomy is surgery to remove a herniated or damaged portion of a disk in your spine. The purpose of diskectomy is to relieve symptoms caused by the pressure that a herniated disk places on a spinal nerve.
Diskectomy is not necessary for everyone who has a herniated disk. Only about 10 percent of people with herniated disks need surgery. Diskectomy usually is used when more conservative treatment, such as medication and physical therapy, has failed to relieve herniated disk symptoms.
Depending on your situation, your surgeon may be able to perform a version of diskectomy called microdiskectomy. Microdiskectomy requires a smaller incision and typically involves a shorter hospital stay, less pain and a smaller surgical scar than does standard diskectomy.
- Open discectomy. North American Spine Society. http://www.spine.org/Documents/open_discectomy_2006.pdf. Accessed May 19, 2009.
- Chou R. Subacute and chronic low back pain: Surgical treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 19, 2009.
- Berger MS. Neurosurgery and surgery of the pituitary. In: Doherty GM, et al. Current Surgical Diagnosis & Treatment. 12th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2006. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2068298. Accessed May 19, 2009.
- Katayama Y, et al. Comparison of surgical outcomes between macro discectomy and micro discectomy for lumbar disc herniation: A prospective randomized study with surgery performed by the same spine surgeon. Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques. 2006;19:344.
- Back pain. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Back_Pain/default.asp. Accessed May 19, 2009.
- Williams KD, et al. Lower back pain and disorders of intervertebral disks. In: Canale ST, et al. Campbell's Operative Orthopedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2008.
