Conservative, minimally invasive or open surgery for lumbar disc herniation

This is a common concern among patients, and the more important concern is whether the treatment will guarantee no recurrence. From a professional point of view, no treatment can guarantee 100% effectiveness, not to mention 100% non-recurrence. There are many causes of lumbar disc herniation that lead to back pain or leg pain, and some of the mechanisms are still unknown, so it is not easy to guarantee the effectiveness of the treatment. It is necessary to first determine not only the specific cause of the back and leg pain, but also to analyze the size and type of the herniated disc, and a perfect combination of both is required to determine that the symptoms are caused by a disc lesion. This is the reason why doctors require patients to have radiographs, CTs, and MRIs. For treatment, I recommend that patients choose conservative treatment first. There will always be a percentage of patients whose symptoms disappear completely after conservative treatment. There will always be some patients whose symptoms completely disappear after conservative treatment. There are also some patients whose herniated discs disappear after conservative treatment, which is not the effect of any magical drugs or creams, but a mechanism of the human body itself. However, if the herniated disc compresses the cauda equina nerve, leading to dysfunction of urination and defecation, or if the herniated material is free, leading to a decrease in muscle strength, emergency surgery should be chosen, and the sooner the compression is lifted, the better the result will be for motor nerve compression. If the effect of conservative treatment is not good, it is recommended to choose minimally invasive surgical treatment. The effect of minimally invasive surgery may not be able to reach the effect of open surgery, but minimally invasive surgery is less traumatic, low risk, and can be repeated treatment. Symptoms can be eliminated in most patients. There are many methods of minimally invasive surgery, including radiofrequency, ozone, discolysis, laser, plasma, and laminectomy. Each method has different indications, but the simpler the method, the less invasive it will be, and it is recommended that treatment choices be based on the principle of moving from simple to complex. Do not aim for 100 percent effectiveness, but rather 100 percent safety. Surgery should be used as a last resort and can be chosen when various conservative minimally invasive procedures have failed.