If left untreated or if the underlying cause is severe, sciatica may become chronic and persistent, lasting for two months or more. An estimated 20% to 30% of people may continue to have sciatica for 1 to 2 years.

Two weeks post-operation, most patients can expect to be participating in all regular, daily activities. A spinal fusion procedure requires a bit more downtime, and patients are restricted for 12 weeks to allow proper bone fusion and healing to occur.

Published follow-up studies and our in-house observations show that endoscopic discectomy surgery is a highly successful procedure. A study that observed the post-surgical condition of patients over a 10-year period showed that more than 80 percent reported excellent results and none had any poor results.

Avoid strenuous activities, such as bicycle riding, jogging, weight lifting, or aerobic exercise, until your doctor says it is okay. Ask your doctor when you can drive again. Avoid riding in a car for more than 30 minutes at a time for 2 to 4 weeks after surgery.

You’ll usually be able to go home about 1 to 4 days after your operation. How long you need to stay in hospital will depend on the specific type of surgery you had and your general health. When you get home, it’s important to take things easy at first, gradually increasing your level of activity every day.

Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve becomes pinched, usually by a herniated disk in your spine or by an overgrowth of bone (bone spur) on your vertebrae. More rarely, the nerve can be compressed by a tumor or damaged by a disease such as diabetes.

This significantly reduces blood loss, damage to muscles, nerves and blood vessels, surgical complications, pain, and scarring. Consequently, patients spend less time in the hospital and recover much quicker than from traditional surgery.

Discectomy is surgery to remove lumbar (low back) herniated disc material that is pressing on a nerve root or the spinal cord. It tends to be done as microdiscectomy, which uses a special microscope to view the disc and nerves. This larger view allows the surgeon to use a smaller cut (incision).

One study estimated the success rate for back surgeries to be about 50%. This estimate is conservative, as most success rates depend on a wide variety of factors. Your health, specific surgery, source of pain and any surgery complications influence whether or not your procedure will be effective.

Each year in the United States, approximately 1.62 million instrumented spinal procedures are performed.1 Minimizing tissue trauma, tissue injuries, and