A herniated disc is a bulging of a chondral nucleus. It appears because of a sedentary lifestyle, excessive load on the spine and a result of traumas. Herniated disc compresses the nerve fibers and causes a strong pain.
If a hernia is small, it can disappear by itself, or with massage. In other cases, the help of experienced dermatologists in necessary, because it can lead to invalidization.
In which cases a herniated disc is recommended to treat in Israel
- severe pain which cannot be killed with non-narcotic drugs;
- permanent pain during physical exercises;
- compression of so-called "Horsetail," i.e., a final part of the spinal cord. This condition is accompanied by intense pain in the lower abdomen, incontinence of feces and urine, impotence;
- impaired sensitivity and limb function, erectile dysfunction;
- permanent headaches, increases in blood pressure, muscle weakness, numbness of the hands (signs of a hernia of the cervical spine).
The advantage of herniated disc treatment in Israel: advanced microsurgery of the spine. Specialists use endoscopic methods, ablation of bulging, etc.
Methods for herniated disc treatment in Israel
- Radiofrequency ablation. In case of severe pain and impossibility of other methods, a doctor applies irradiation which destroys a nerve ending in the area of damage. The cycles takes 2 months. A procedure is outpatient, but requires permanent monitoring and may be accompanied by pain in the first 2 weeks.
- Nucleotomy. An electrode (or optical fiber for the laser method) is inserted into the intervertebral disc, then a part of the disk is evaporated. The advantage of manipulation is an immediate elimination of pain syndrome and other consequences of a hernia.
- Spondylosis. A surgeon may suggest removing the affected intervertebral joint in an advanced condition. During a surgery, a herniated disc is removed, and the space between the vertebrae is filled with an allo-transplant (the material is taken from the patient's pelvic bone). It solves the problem of a specific hernia forever, but the mobility and flexibility of the spine change irreversibly.
Microsurgery of the spinal cord in Israel
Discectomy is a manipulation similar with nucleotomy. A doctor removes a part of a herniated disc which compresses a nervous ending. It is performed using an operative microscope. During a surgery, ligament, muscles and nervous endings are not damaged.
Laminectomy. If a hernia is impossible to be removed, a doctor can take a lamina away. This procedure is also called “open decompression of a hernia.” A surgeon decompresses a nervous ending thanks to the increasing of free space.
During surgery, a specialist cuts muscles off the vertebral arch and decompresses the spinal cord.
For 1 day a patient returns to a normal life - sensitivity and functions of limbs appear.
After surgery, a patient needs to stay at the hospital for the week. It is necessary for prevention of possible complications (they happen rarely):
- a relapse of compression;
- infection of a wound, spinal cord (this index in Israel in the lowest in the world);
- bleeding from vessels in the surgery area.
If a herniated disc is detected at the early stages, it is removed without complications.