Treatments for Herniated Lumbar Discs Depending upon the results of the physical and radiologic examination and the severity of your condition, your doctor may offer you two forms of treatment. The first common treatment prescribed for pain caused by the herniated lumbar disc is conservative therapy . Conservative therapy may consist of a period of bed rest, analgesics and chiropractic and physical therapy. However, if after therapy the pain has not been relieved, a surgical procedure may be considered. My philosophy is to do the least invasive surgical procedure which combines the least surgical risk with the greatest opportunity for success.
Outpatient procedures are also less costly.
LED is an outpatient surgical procedure to remove herniated disc material. An anesthesiologist provides intravenous sedation. The surgeon also uses local anesthesia. A portion of the nuclear material near the herniation is then removed with laser , suction or mechanical means, thereby lowering the intradiscal pressure. The rest of the disc is left intact.