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A diskectomy is performed to relieve the pressure a herniated disk (also called slipped, ruptured or bulging disk or disk prolapse) places on a spinal nerve. A herniated disk occurs when some of the softer material inside the disk pushes out through a crack in the tougher exterior.
Your doctor may recommend diskectomy if:
- You have trouble standing or walking because of nerve weakness
- Conservative treatment, such as medication or physical therapy, fails to improve your symptoms after six weeks
- A disk fragment lodges in your spinal canal, pressing on a nerve
- Pain radiating into your buttocks, legs, arms or chest becomes too much to manage
- Williams KD, et al. Lumbar disc disease. In: Canale ST, et al. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-4/0/1584/0.html. Accessed May 3, 2011.
- Williams KD, et al. Cervical disc disease. In: Canale ST, et al. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-4/0/1584/0.html. Accessed May 3, 2011.
- Open discectomy. North American Spine Society. http://www.knowyourback.org/Documents/open_discectomy.pdf. Accessed May 3, 2011.
- Herniated cervical disc. North American Spine Society. http://www.knowyourback.org/Documents/herniated_cervical.pdf. Accessed May 3, 2011.
- Cervical radiculopathy: Surgical treatment options. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00540. Accessed May 3, 2011.
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