Spinal hernia

The surgical wound. An incision just 8 mm long

The orthopaedic surgeon makes an 8 mm incision in your side. By inserting increasingly wider tubes (cannulas), the hernia can ultimately be approached via an access shaft 7.5 mm in diameter. The endoscope is then inserted up to the hernia through this access shaft. The surgeon subsequently removes the hernia while observing his instruments at work in the spinal canal on the endoscope screen.

View the procedure from start to finish, step by step

Want to see more? View the animation here

Orthopaedic surgeon Iprenburg removes the hernia by means of Percutaneous Transforaminal Endoscopic Discectomy (abbreviated to PTED). The name tells us something about the procedure:

• Percutaneous means ‘through the skin’
• Transforaminal means ‘via the foramen’. The foramen is the opening at the side of the central spinal canal through which the nerve runs.
• Endoscopic means ‘with the aid of an endoscope’. An endoscope is a lighted tube with a camera at the tip, through which an instrument, usually forceps, can be inserted. The endoscope enables us to view the hernia inside the spinal canal.
• Discectomy means ‘removal of the hernia’.