Lower Back Surgery.

1. Microdiscectomy: Where the surgeon identifies the part of your disc that is out of place and pressing on the nerve. He removes this part with microscopic surgery. This means that the whole disc is not removed but only the offending part.
   
   My preference is to relocate the offending part with manual techniques, but if this is not possible, this is the least invasive disc surgery. Thankfully it is also the most common.



2. Discectomy: Where the central part of your disc is removed. Using my analysis (see herniated disc symptoms) it is the jam of the doughnut being removed!
   
   Thankfully, this is less common since microdiscectomy techniques have been discovered, but it is still used. I would like to see this type of surgery at all costs, but sometimes it is required!



3. Laminectomy: Where the lamina of your disc is removed. It is used less frequently now, as better options have been devised. It has, in the past, involved the removal of the lamina and the surrounding bone and soft tissues - which is why I dislike this type of surgery from a physiotherapists point of view.



4. Foraminotomy: Where the foramina of your vertebral canal is being compressed and you are experiencing severe nerve pain. When this surgery is required - it provides a happy release!!



5. Spinal fusion: Which is a surgical technique where they fuse two vertebrae together. This is a type of surgery that I feel can be the least damaging and most effective - again from a physiotherapist point of view.
   
   However, when one segment is moving, or positioned excessively away from the function of the other, manual therapy and exercise therapy rarely work. Seek physiotherapy opinion before you take this surgery.

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