What to Expect During and After Your Discectomy

Discectomy is an orthopedic surgery that takes the pressure off nerves compressed by a damaged or herniated disc. While you might expect a discectomy to alleviate back pain, the surgery works best for treating pain that radiates through your arms or legs, called referred pain. 

Board-certified orthopedic surgeon Kevin M. Koutsky, MD, specializes in conservative treatment for herniated discs at DuPage Spine and Orthopaedics in Hinsdale, Illinois. His strategy often includes discectomy when more conservative treatments, like medications and physical therapy, haven’t worked or when symptoms worsen. 

If discectomy is part of your treatment plan, learning about the procedure can ease any apprehensions you have about the surgery. Here’s what you can expect during and after your discectomy: 

What happens during discectomy

There are several discectomy techniques, all involving the removal of damaged parts of a spinal disc. The discs in your spine provide cushioning and shock absorption between vertebrae (the bones in your spine). In a typical discectomy, only the part of the disc compressing a nerve is removed. 

Sometimes discectomy involves removing other nerve-compressing tissues, like bone or ligament. In rare cases, surgeons must remove the entire disc. In this case, they fill the empty space with a piece of real or synthetic bone. 

Before the discectomy, you get some form of anesthesia. Open discectomy surgery typically requires general anesthesia. Under general anesthesia, you’re not awake. 

For minimally invasive discectomy, you might only require local anesthesia to numb the targeted area. Minimally invasive discectomy is usually an outpatient procedure, which means you can go home later the same day. 

Advantages of minimally invasive discectomy

In many cases, Dr. Koutsky can use a minimally invasive surgical technique to perform a discectomy. Minimally invasive orthopedic surgeries involve smaller incisions and smaller tools than conventional open surgeries. 

Compared to open surgery, the advantages of minimally invasive discectomy include:

• Less trauma
• Fewer possible complications (e.g. blood loss and infections)
• Less scarring
• A shorter recovery period

Dr. Koutsky plans your discectomy with great care and can detail his preferred technique to you ahead of time. 

Your discectomy recovery

The length and requirements of your recovery after discectomy can vary based on the technique. After a minimally invasive discectomy, you can usually return to work within a week. An open discectomy may require 6-8 weeks of rest and recovery before you can safely work again. 

During your recovery period after discectomy, Dr. Koutsky may tell you to:

• Avoid heavy lifting and strenuous exercise
• Limit lifting and bending motions
• Wear a temporary back brace
• Engage in physical therapy
• Take medications to manage postoperative pain

Dr. Koutsky also encourages you to keep a healthy weight, consume a nutritious diet, and stay active after getting a discectomy to prevent re-injury of your spine. 

Contact us today

A discectomy could be your key to less radiating and debilitating pain in your extremities from an injured disc. Call DuPage Spine and Orthopaedics or request an appointment online for your surgical consultation today.