Spinal microdiskectomy; Microdecompression; Laminotomy; Disk removal; Spine surgery - diskectomy

Risks for any anesthesia are:

• Reactions to medications
• Breathing problems

Risks for any surgery include are:

• Bleeding
• Infection

Risks for this surgery are:

• Damage to the nerves that come out of the spine, causing weakness or pain that does not go away.
• Your back pain does not get better or comes back again later.
• Because of the small surgical cut used in a microdiskectomy, the doctor may miss some disk fragments. This could cause you to continue having pain after surgery.

Images

Spinal stenosis

Spine supporting structures

Cauda equina

Bones of the spine

Review Date: 05/25/2010
Reviewed By: A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, and David R. Eltz. Previously reviewed by C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Dept of Orthopaedic Surgery (3/4/2009).

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)