Discectomy
A discectomy (also called open discectomy) is the surgical removal of herniated disc material that presses on a nerve root or the spinal cord. The procedure involves removing the central portion of an intervertebral disc, the nucleus pulposus, which causes pain by stressing the spinal cord or radiating nerves.
Epidemiology
A single level discectomy is one of the most common procedures performed by spine surgeons.
Types
Complications
Epidural fibrosis and epidural adhesion after laminectomy are developed from adjacent dense scar tissue, which is a natural wound healing process 1) 2) 3) 4) , and ranked as the major contributor for postoperative pain recurrence after laminectomy or discectomy.
1)
Alkalay RN, Kim DH, Urry DW, Xu J, Parker TM, Glazer PA. Prevention of postlaminectomy epidural fibrosis using bioelastic materials. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2003;28:1659–1665.
2)
Hsu CJ, Chou WY, Teng HP, Chang WN, Chou YJ. Coralline hydroxyapatite and laminectomy-derived bone as adjuvant graft material for lumbar posterolateral fusion. J Neurosurg Spine. 2005;3:271–275.
3)
Temel SG, Ozturk C, Temiz A, Ersozlu S, Aydinli U. A new material for prevention of epidural fibrosis after laminectomy: oxidized regenerated cellulose (interceed), an absorbable barrier. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2006;19:270–275.
4)
Yu CH, Lee JH, Baek HR, Nam H. The effectiveness of poloxamer 407-based new anti-adhesive material in a laminectomy model in rats. Eur Spine J. 2012;21:971–979.