Open discectomy is the most common surgical treatment for ruptured or herniated discs  of the lumbar spine.

When the disc becomes herniated may compress the nerve tissue, causing weakness, tingling or back and leg pain.

Open discectomy aims to relieve these symptoms removing part of the herniated disc, the source of pain.  

Surgical procedure: the steps.

• Your surgeon will perform a small incision in the skin over the area to be treated.
• Muscle tissue is removed above and below the affected disc. A retractor is used to keep the skin and muscle away over the surgical site to allow the surgeon to better visualise the area.
• In some cases, to reach the disc it is necessary to remove part of the bone of the vertebra and the ligament.(laminectomy
• The part of the disc that protruded is removed and no material is used to replace the disc.