Slipped Disc Surgery

Surgery for slipped disc is always the last resort in addressing slipped disc cases. Non-surgical or the so-called conservative approaches such as physical exercise, yoga, and medical regime, among others, should be explored first.

When all else fails to rectify the case is when a slipped disc surgery is made necessary. Some cases, however, do call for slipped disc surgery even without trying out other conservative approaches. When is this so? When the patient is experiencing chronic impairment in bowel movement, having difficulty controlling bladder habit, and when the doctor sees the case as a significant threat to paralysis. These leave no questions for the medical experts to conduct surgery for slipped discs.

Slipped disc surgery need not be too complicated but not too simple either. Proper diagnosis is a very crucial prerequisite to having one. Necessary precautions such as having normal blood pressure, pulse rate, and heart condition should be observed prior to the operation. Any slipped disc surgery requires application of general anesthesia.

Popular slipped disc surgery approaches involve discetomy and laser surgery. The former is considered to be the old way of doing slipped disc surgery. This, nonetheless, does not make this slipped disc surgery obsolete as lots of doctors still resort to having this over laser surgery for slipped discs.

Discetomy is the type of slipped disc surgery wherein decompression of nerve root is being done. The main objective is for the herniated or slipped disc to be removed. This slipped disc surgery leaves the patient with about three-inch long stitch at the lower part of the spinal section. After this slipped disc surgery, the patient needs to stay in the hospital for there to five days. Complications such as difficulty in bowel movement may be experienced but this case is very rare. Heart and lung complications are possible but occurrence can be prevented by intensively following the precautions and regime associated with the surgery. Patient who had discetomy surgery for slipped disc is advised not to lift any considerably heavy object until six weeks after the surgery. A minimum of six weeks is required before the patient can drive and swim.

Laser surgery for slipped disc is the modern approach wherein the stitch, as oppose to that of discetomy, is only about half-an-inch - making it lesser invasive. The lesser invasive it is, the safer it is for the patient. This slipped disc surgery uses concentrated light beam in treating herniated discs. The approach is almost bloodless and, if aesthetic would count, is leaving the patient with almost no scar at all. Patient who had laser surgery for slipped disc can have the surgery done in the morning and go back at home in the afternoon. And because this slipped disc surgery is lesser invasive, recovery period is faster.

Not every patient is a candidate for having laser disc surgery. The medical experts should decide, in most of the cases, as to which slipped disc surgery to take.