Endoscopic discectomy is the least invasive and effective surgical technique for treating spinal disc herniation patients. With endoscopic spine procedure, surgeons do not need to remove bones and muscles in order to remove herniated discs. Surgeons can see the spine with a camera, smaller than a smart phone camera, through a small surgical port (tube). Large incisions are avoided. The procedure does not traumatize your spine like traditional spine surgeries do. The whole procedure for a disc herniation takes about 30 minutes. The patient goes home in 2-3 hours when the procedure is done in a center.

“With our discectomy procedure, the patient is brought to the operative room, Under local anesthesia, a small metal tube is inserted to the spine for direct visualization. This tube serves as a passage for the surgical tools so that the patient’s muscles do not have to be torn or cut. Then, the annular tear, bulging disc, or herniated disc can be found easily under direct visualization looking through the tube.

Under the guidance of the x-ray fluoroscopy and direct visualization, a piece of the herniated disc is pulled out with a grasper. A small disc bulge or annular tear can be treated with a laser, which vaporizes disc material, kills pain nerves inside the disc, and hardens the disc to prevent further leakage of disc material to the surrounding nerves. Finally, the tube is removed and the incision is closed with a stitch or two.”