Patients with lumbar disc herniation require emergency surgery when they have: 1. sudden or aggravated lower extremity weakness, such as inability to move the foot or toes upward; 2. a pronounced feeling of suffocation but inability to urinate or defecate normally; or inability to control urination or defecation; 3. very severe pain that is not relieved by conservative regular treatment, persists and progressively worsens, and seriously affects life. The reason why the above cases require emergency surgery is that these indicate that the herniated disc has caused serious damage to nerve function, which often leads to permanent nerve dysfunction once treatment is delayed. Special attention should be paid to the judgment of an experienced spine surgeon as to whether emergency surgery is needed.