Your spine is composed of a series of rubbery cushions (discs) and 26 bones (vertebrae) stacked one on top of the other. Sometimes those rubbery cushions can slip out of place, irritating the nerves nearby and causing extreme pain.
Herniated Disc Diagnosis and Treatment at Inspira
The aging process is often the catalyst for disc degeneration, as the discs in your back shrink with age and become less flexible, resulting in a herniated disc. A single excessive strain, injury from improper lifting or repetitive strenuous activity can also cause a disc to fall out of place. Common symptoms include numbness, tingling and/or weakness in an arm or leg.
A herniated disc can often be resolved without surgery and may include a combination of rest, pain medication, massage or physical therapy. If surgery is necessary, your neurosurgeon will gauge the severity of your condition and either repair, remove or replace the disc. To remove the damaged portion of the disc, your neurosurgeon will perform a discectomy or microdiscectomy using minimally invasive surgical techniques whenever possible.
Introducing A New Way to Treat Herniated Disks: Diskectomy Using the Barricaid Device
During a diskectomy, a portion of the damaged disc is removed, but a hole is often left in the outer ring of the disc. Depending on the size of this hole, a second disc herniation may happen after surgery, resulting in the return of symptoms and a greater chance of disability. To reduce this risk of re-herniation, Inspira offers a minimally invasive diskectomy technique using the newly FDA approved Barricaid device: an implant that closes the large holes regularly left behind in disc walls. The decision to use the device is made intraoperatively by your surgeon during the diskectomy procedure. Through several clinical trials, the Barricaid device has been proven 81 percent effective in preventing re-herniation of discs and reoperations.
Inspira’s skilled neurosurgeons are standing by to answer your questions.
