How is laser disc?

Due to today's lifestyle, the complication of disc protrusion is increasing day by day, and scientists and doctors are always looking to replace less invasive methods with open surgery as much as possible. Lumbar disc treatment by laser method has been one of the successful solutions in this field. This surgery has been seriously popular since 2000 in developed countries, such as the United States, and is used instead of some open spine surgeries. Lumbar disc laser surgery was performed for the first time in the south of the country by Dr. Seyed Hossein Essai in Shiraz Muslim Hospital. Since most people are not fully familiar with lumbar disc laser or spine laser surgery or PLDD, they have many questions about this treatment method, which we are trying to share with you in this speech.

Who are the candidates for lumbar disc laser surgery orPLDD?

• Those who have disc herniation or disc protrusion.
• Those who have radicular pain or referred pain from the lower back to the leg.
• Also, in people whose pain has not responded positively to drug treatments in the past 6 weeks.

Who are not good candidates for PLDD?

This treatment method has limitations, sometimes some people are not able to perform surgery due to their conditions:

• People who have spinal canal stenosis.
• Those who have face problems or joints between the spine.
• Those who have a history of surgery at the same level of the spine.
• People who have deformities or malformations of the spine. Deformities of the spine can be congenital or due to vertebrae slipping on each other.
• Ladies who are pregnant.
• People who have problems with the spinal cord.

How is the laser or PLDD procedure?

The start of this operation is by local anesthesia of the muscles of the patient's body. High energy and heat are injected into the center of the protruding disc through the needle. Doing this process reduces the volume and diameter in the protruding part of the disc. By doing this treatment, pressure will be removed from the nerve, blood supply will also be better. It should be noted that not all lumbar disc procedures with laser are the same. The difference between these operations is in choosing the model and type of laser that is used for imaging during surgery.

Does lumbar disc laser have any side effects?

The benefits of lumbar disc surgery with laser (PLDD)

One of the important advantages that can be considered in relation to this operation is that disc laser, like lumbar disc endoscopy, is less invasive than the old methods. In fact, this procedure is performed on an outpatient basis using local anesthesia. Naturally, the less invasive measures are performed during the operation, the shorter the patient's recovery period will be.

Since the lumbar disc laser operation is performed in a closed manner, it definitely has more advantages than open and invasive methods, which are as follows:

• Shorter recovery period
• No need for hospitalization
• No need for general anesthesia
• No cutting during treatment
• Lower cost than open surgery
• No stitches and wound formation