Herniated nucleus pulposus (slipped disk)

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Herniated disk repair	Herniated nucleus pulposus	Lumbar spinal surgery - series	Sciatic nerve
Skeletal spine

SURGERY

Surgery may be an option for the few patients whose symptoms persist despite other treatments.

Diskectomy removes a protruding disk. This procedure requires general anesthesia (asleep and no pain) and 2-3 day hospital stay. You will be encouraged to walk the first day after surgery to reduce the risk of blood clots.

Complete recovery takes several weeks. If more than one disk needs to be taken out or if there are other problems in the back besides a herniated disk, more extensive surgery may be needed. This may require a much longer recovery period.

Other surgical options include micro-diskectomy, a procedure removing fragments of nucleated disk through a very small opening.

Chemonucleolysis involves the injection of an enzyme (called chymopapain) into the herniated disk to dissolve the protruding gelatinous substance. This procedure may be an alternative to diskectomy in certain situations.

Most people will improve with conservative treatment. A small percentage may continue to have chronic back pain even after treatment.

It may take several months to a year or more to resume all activities without pain or strain to the back. People with certain occupations that involve heavy lifting or back strain may need to change job activities to avoid recurrent back injury.

• Long-term back pain
• Permanent spinal cord injury (very rare)
  • Loss of movement or sensation in the legs or feet
  • Loss of bowel and bladder function

Call your health care provider if persistent, severe back pain develops, especially if there is any numbness or loss of movement.

Review Date: 05/31/2006
Reviewed By: Kevin B. Freedman, MD, MSCE, Sports Medicine, Orthopaedic Specialists, Bryn Mawr, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.