Artificial disc replacement allows motion preservation, near normal distribution of stress along the spine and restoration of pre-degenerative disc height.
Minimally invasive surgery, also known as "keyhole" surgery is performed using an endoscope, which is inserted through small incisions (half-inch). The endoscope is connected to a tiny video camera which projects an "inside" view of the patient's body onto television screens in the operating room.
Pain in the lower back (lumbar spine) and legs, among other symptoms, may occur when an intervertebral disc herniates - when the annulus fibrosus (tough, outer ring) of the disc tears and the nucleus pulposus (soft, jelly-like center) squeezes out, and places pressure on, or "pinches," an adjacent nerve root.
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