Journal of clinical laser medicine & surgery
-
J Clin Laser Med Surg · Dec 1998
Comparative Study Clinical TrialPercutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD): twelve years' experience with 752 procedures in 518 patients.
Percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) is a procedure in which herniated intervertebral discs are treated by reduction of intradiscal pressure through laser energy. This is introduced by a needle inserted into the nucleus pulposus under local anesthesia and fluoroscopic monitoring. The small volume of nucleus vaporized results in a sharp fall of intradiscal pressure, with consequent migration of the herniation away from the nerve root. First proposed by the author in 1984, this concept was validated by 2 years of in vitro experiments. Our aim was to apply this concept to a large series of patients with herniated disc disease. ⋯ PLDD has proven to be safe and effective. It is minimally invasive, is performed in an outpatient setting, requires no general anesthesia, results in no scarring or spinal instability, reduces rehabilitation time, is repeatable, and does not preclude open surgery should that become necessary.