Microdiscectomy is an outpatient endoscopic ultra-minimally invasive procedure. Patients visit the hospital on the day of the surgery and are discharged on the same day. This procedure is primarily employed to address issues like a herniated disc, and it aims to alleviate pressure on the spinal nerve by extracting the material responsible for causing pain.
After making a small, dime-sized skin incision, a special tube-shaped retractor is placed on top of the spine without damaging the back muscles. A small part of the bone over the nerve and/or disc is taken out (laminotomy) with special tools that fit through the tube. A powerful microscope is used to look around the spinal nerves. Disc fragments that are pinching the nerve are carefully removed.
There are other non-operative treatment options for patients with disc herniation who do not have severe neurologic deficit such as the foot/ankle not moving (foot drop). Please ask Dr. Cho whether microdiscectomy is the right procedure for your condition.