A surgical procedure that removes part or all of a herniated or damaged intervertebral disc to relieve pressure on spinal nerves. It's performed when conservative treatments fail to resolve nerve compression symptoms.
From Latin 'discus' meaning 'disc' (referring to the intervertebral disc) and Greek 'ektome' meaning 'cutting out.' The term directly describes the removal of disc material.
Discectomy often provides immediate relief from excruciating sciatica pain by removing the piece of disc material that's pressing on a nerve root. Modern minimally invasive techniques allow some discectomies to be performed through incisions less than an inch long, dramatically reducing recovery time.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.