[Rein]

I'd assumed (obviously, very incorrectly) that you were suffering from typical buttock/leg pain from leaking nucleus pulposa. If you don't have that pain you're one of the lucky few and your situation (in my humble opinon) certainly doesn't warrant discectomy, as benign as that procedure may be.

I've written on discectomies before on this forum, mainly concerning the fact that they are inevitably followed by total disc collapse (after an indeterminate length of time) and are only a stopgap measure to relieve radiculopathy before fusion or ADR.

If you *were* to undergo discectomy, there is no reason in the world, nowadays, for it *not* to be the microendoscopic version (even if you require multiple levels, in which case they would likely opt for multiple incisions rather than a single open procedure - it really depends on the extent and location of leaking). I underwent that procedure for my L5-S1 rupture and the incision was 1 inch long. I could have walked out of the hospital the same day except for the delay caused by my surgeon having to perform emergency brain surgery during my morning slot. I sincerely hope you don't degenerate to that level before obtaining ADR, as the pain from nucleotic material impinging on the spinal cord, after it gets into gear, is really nasty. Once the onset occurs, there's just no position into which one can maneuver to escape its clutches. Imagine sulphuric acid inserted into the top of your buttock through a hollowed-out screwdriver... I spent about 48 agony-filled, sleepless hours before I finally got got my sorry butt to the emergency room and was hooked up to a morphine drip (all my visitors called me Mr. Giggles after that one).

If you do feel pain starting as I've described, don't follow my dimwitted example and wait too long...

You are correct - if you obtain ADR (and no nucleotic material has leaked out beforehand) then there's no reason or need for discectomy because whatever is left of the nucleus is removed during the ADR procedure (and that's all the discectomy achieves, really - removing leaked-out material which compresses and irritates spinal nerves).