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Surgery

Spine Center > Surgery

Percutaneous Endoscopic Laser Discectomy (PELD)

Indications

  • Patients suffering lumbar disc herniation with pain in the legs greater than pain the lower back
  • Patients with lumbar disc herniation / symptoms stay same despite 4-6 weeks of treatment
  • Patients with a recurrence of lumbar disc herniation
  • Patients with lumbar disc herniation / not completely ruptured disc
  • Patients with young lumbar disc / little degenerative symptoms
  • Aged patients who may not have general anesthesia due to age or other diseases

Procedure

  • A patient lies face down.
  • Incise the skin for about 0.7cm around the area 10-12cm off from the middle of the lower back.
  • Insert a tube up to the disc, and pass down the endoscope through the tube. Remove the herniated disc using laser and disc forceps.

Advantages

  • Local anesthesia administered / a patient can have a talk with the doctor during the treatment.
  • About 40-minute operation / a patient can go home on the day of surgery or following day.
  • Minor scar (about 0.7cm) in the area 10-14cm off from the middle of the lower back
  • No general anesthesia-related risk
  • Relief of pain right after the surgery
  • Reduction of a possibility of recurrence using laser

Photos

The 3rd picture is a tube which is connected to the disc. An endoscope is passed down through this tube, and herniated disc is removed using laser or disc forceps.

Before and after MRI pictures

According to the picture before the surgery, the herniated disc in the lumbar vertebrae 4-5 compresses the spinal cord. In the picture after the surgery, the disc is removed. In the 10year post-surgery photo, a normal shape is observed after the PELD.

Vertebropasty

Indications

  • Patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures
  • Patients with traumatic vertebral compression fractures
  • Patients with spinal compression fractures caused by tumor or vessel malformation

Procedure

  • A patient lies face down.
  • Anesthetize the skin above the fractured bone and insert a narrow needle into the fractured bone.
  • Check the location of the needle through X-ray fluoroscope. Inject a bond cement mixture into the fractured bone, and finish the surgery.

Advantages

  • Relief of pain right after the surgery
  • Local anesthesia applicable for the aged or those with various diseases
  • A patient can walk in four (4) hours after the surgery and go home on the day of surgery.

Before and after pictures

In the 1st MRI picture, the black color in the 2nd lumbar vertebrae reveals compression fracture. The 2nd picture is an X-ray image which shows artificial cement-filled 2nd lumbar vertebrae.