Endoscopic Disc Surgery

Endoscopic disc surgery removes the part of a slipped disc that is pressing on a nerve, working through a tube less than 1 cm wide with a camera at its tip. It is the least invasive form of discectomy.

It relieves leg pain (sciatica) about as well as conventional microdiscectomy, with a smaller wound and quicker mobilisation. It does not treat back pain from worn discs, and not every hernia can be reached this way.

What Endoscopic Disc Surgery involves

You lie face down, or on your side, on an X-ray table. Using X-ray guidance, a needle is placed towards the disc, a guide wire and dilators follow, and a working tube of 7 to 8 mm is seated through a skin cut of about 1 cm. In the transforaminal route the tube enters from the side through the natural opening where the nerve exits, without removing bone. In the interlaminar route it passes from the back between the laminae, which suits L5 S1. Under continuous saline irrigation the surgeon sees the nerve root on a screen, moves it gently aside, and removes the loose disc fragment with fine forceps. A radiofrequency probe seals small vessels and shrinks the tear. One stitch closes the skin.

Who is a good candidate for Endoscopic Disc Surgery?

It is for leg pain from a confirmed disc hernia that matches your symptoms on MRI and has not improved after about 6 weeks of conservative care.

• Sciatica with a contained or extruded lumbar disc hernia on MRI
• Foraminal or far lateral hernias, which are awkward to reach by open surgery
• People who want or need to avoid general anaesthesia
• Recurrent hernia after earlier open surgery, approached through fresh tissue

It is usually not the right choice if:

• Back pain without nerve compression
• Spinal instability or significant slippage needing fusion
• Large central hernias with cauda equina syndrome, which need urgent wide decompression
• Heavily calcified discs or severe bony narrowing, depending on surgeon experience

الخيارات التقنية

• Transforaminal endoscopic discectomy: Side approach, often under local anaesthetic with sedation; ideal for foraminal hernias and levels above L5.
• Interlaminar endoscopic discectomy: Posterior approach under general anaesthetic, preferred for L5 S1 where the pelvis blocks the side route.
• Biportal endoscopy: Two small portals, one for the camera and one for instruments; allows wider decompression of stenosis.
• Microdiscectomy: The conventional alternative through a 2 to 3 cm cut with a microscope; the reference standard with equivalent long term results.

ماذا يحدث خلال علاجك

The procedure takes 45 to 90 minutes. With the side approach you may be awake but sedated and can tell the surgeon if the nerve is touched. You are walking within a few hours and go home the same day or the next morning. Leg pain is often better immediately.

الإعداد لرحلتك

Plan for 5 to 7 days in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.

• Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
• Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
• Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
• Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly

التعافي والنتائج

Walk daily from the start. Avoid bending, twisting and lifting more than a few kilos for 4 to 6 weeks. Desk work is usually possible after 1 to 2 weeks, manual work after 6 to 8 weeks. Numbness and weakness recover more slowly than pain, over weeks to months. Core strengthening begins at about 4 weeks.

• Back to everyday activity: 1 to 2 weeks for desk work
• When results show: Leg pain often eases within days
• How long they last: Most people stay well; up to 1 in 10 have a recurrence

سياسة السلامة والمخاطر والتنقيح

Overall risk is low, but the technique has a learning curve and experience matters.

• Recurrent hernia at the same level in roughly 5 to 10 in 100 people
• Incomplete removal of the fragment needing a second procedure
• Temporary burning or numbness in the leg from irritation of the exiting nerve root
• Tear of the dural sac with spinal fluid leak and headache
• Disc space infection, rare
• Nerve injury with lasting weakness, rare

Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.

Cost of Endoscopic Disc Surgery in Türkiye

Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Endoscopic Disc Surgery, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:

• Single use endoscopic instruments and radiofrequency probes
• Number of levels
• Local with sedation versus general anaesthesia
• Up to date MRI if yours is older than about 3 months

Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.

الأسئلة المتكررة