Degenerative Disc Disease

When Does Surgery for Degenerative Disc Disease Become Necessary?

If you have endured severe or debilitating pain through several months of unsuccessful non-surgical treatments, you may be a candidate for disc degeneration surgery. In rare cases surgery for degenerative disc disease may be required immediately, if you have lost bowel or bladder control. If you suffer from multi-layer disc degeneration, however, you may not be the best candidate for a degenerative disc disease operation, and we can offer you alternative options.

It is important that the decision to proceed with disc degeneration surgery not be made only by looking at imaging studies. The amount of limitation the disc degeneration is placing on one person could differ with the same amount of disc damage in another patient. In most cases, a degenerative disc disease operation is advised when quality of life is affected.

What Are the Available Disc Degeneration Surgery Options?

Disc degeneration surgery can be performed with either an open procedure or a minimally invasive procedure. During an open procedure, the surgeon cuts open the skin around the problem area to gain access to your spine, whereas with a minimally invasive procedure, the surgeon needs only a small incision to perform the surgery.

Open procedures (eg, open back surgery) require a long recovery and the need for a large amount of pain medications. Minimally invasive procedures (eg, minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery), however, are associated with a fast recovery, reduced risk of complications, and the need of only a small amount of pain medications.

Are You a Candidate for Disc Degeneration Surgery?

If non surgical degenerative disc disease treatment fails to reduce your pain and other symptoms, you may be a surgical candidate. Our simple 3 step candidacy checking tool can get you started on a path to recovery in just minutes.

Begin 3 Step Diagnosis Process