Body Area: Back / Spine

Body Parts: Lower Spine

Symptoms: Pain

Description:
Lumbar discectomy is used in some cases of chronic back pain due to an injured or herniated disc. A lumbar discectomy is the removal of part of the damaged disc, and usually involves separating the muscle from around the bone protecting the disc as part of the operation or removal of part of the lamina bone (laminotomy/laminectomy). The space from the disc can be filled with a special foam pad to protect the nerves, or the adjacent vertebrae may need to be fused.