How long does surgery usually take for a herniated disc? It depends mainly on what kind of surgery is being done. Generally, open surgery under a microscope or discoscope will take about 20 minutes to 40 minutes. For a foraminoscopic procedure, it usually takes 30 minutes to 1 hour. If it is combined with a slip or spinal stenosis in one stage, it usually takes an hour and a half or two hours, because this type of surgery requires internal fixation with bone graft fusion, and there are more steps in the surgery. Some patients will say to me, “I was in the operating room and out of the operating room for three or four hours, so why did you say 30 minutes for the surgery?” For example, this is like when we fly, the flight is only one hour, but you need to get to the airport an hour early to do the security preparation, so the real flight time is one hour, but it takes three or four hours before and after. The same is true for lumbar disc surgery. Before the surgery, you need to do anesthesia and preparation for the surgery, which takes at least an hour, and after the surgery, you need to wake up before you can come out, so it will take about two to three hours before and after.