Percutaneous Disc Nucleoplasty


This min­i­mal­ly-inva­sive pro­ce­dure uses a small nee­dle and advanced radiofre­quen­cy tech­nol­o­gy to reduce a her­ni­at­ed disc, quick­ly reliev­ing pain in most patients. The pro­ce­dure may be per­formed on an out­pa­tient basis using a gen­tle, relax­ing med­i­cine and local anes­thet­ic. After some anes­thet­ic is inject­ed to numb the area, a thin nee­dle called a can­nu­la is insert­ed through the back and into the her­ni­at­ed disc. The sur­geon uses x‑ray images to guide the place­ment of the can­nu­la. A small radiofre­quen­cy probe is care­ful­ly insert­ed through the can­nu­la and into the disc. The device sends puls­es of radio waves to dis­solve small por­tions of the disc nucleus.

Because only enough of the disc is removed to reduce pres­sure inside the disc, the spine remains sta­ble. The emp­ty space cre­at­ed by the probe allows the disc to reab­sorb the her­ni­a­tion. The probe and nee­dle are removed, and the inser­tion area in the skin is cov­ered with a small ban­dage. Because no mus­cles or bone are cut dur­ing the pro­ce­dure, recov­ery is fast and scar­ring is min­i­mized. The patient may need a day of bed rest after the pro­ce­dure, as well as phys­i­cal ther­a­py. Most may return to nor­mal activ­i­ty with­in one to six weeks.

Click here review an illus­tra­tion of the Per­cu­ta­neous Disc Nucle­o­plas­ty pro­ce­dure.
(Infor­ma­tion obtained from www​.viewmed​ica​.com 2012 Swarm Interactive).