Editing Discectomy (section)

{{Short description|Surgical removal of an intervertebral disc}}
{{see also|Spinal decompression}}
{{Infobox medical intervention
| Name        = Discectomy
| Image       = Gray301.png
| Caption     = Median sagittal section of two lumbar vertebrae and their ligaments. ("Intervertebral fibrocartilage", an old name for the [[intervertebral disc]], labeled at center left.)
| ICD10       =
| ICD9        = {{ICD9proc|80.51}}
| MeshID      = D017586
| MedlinePlus = 007250
| OPS301      =
| OtherCodes  =
}}
[[File:Blausen 0319 Discectomy.png|thumb|Illustration depicting a surgical discectomy]]

A '''discectomy''' (also called open discectomy, if done through a 1/2 inch or larger skin opening) is the surgical removal of abnormal disc material that presses on a [[nerve root]] or the [[spinal cord]]. The procedure involves removing a portion of an [[intervertebral disc]], which causes pain, weakness or numbness by stressing the spinal cord or radiating nerves. The traditional open discectomy, or Love's technique, was published by Ross and Love in 1971. Advances have produced visualization improvements to traditional discectomy procedures (e.g. microdiscectomy, an open discectomy using an external microscope typically done through a 1-inch or larger skin opening), or endoscopic discectomy (the scope passes internally and typically done through a 2&nbsp;mm skin opening or larger, up to 12&nbsp;mm). In conjunction with the traditional discectomy or microdiscectomy, a [[laminotomy]] is often involved to permit access to the intervertebral disc. Laminotomy means a significant amount of typically normal bone (the lamina) is removed from the vertebra, allowing the surgeon to better see and access the area of [[disc herniation]].