The type of surgery to give you relief really depends upon your specific symptomatology. If you had the majority of pain as significant central low back pain that does not “lean” to the leg pain side, the success rate for microdiscectomy/decompression is less than if the lower back pain is much greater on the leg pain side. It sounds like you have lateral recess stenosis from both the disc protrusion and the ligamentum hypertrophy. You might be a candidate for a lateral recess decompression. See https://www.neckandback.com/conditions/lateral-recess-stenosis/ to see if this fits with your symptoms. Back pain can be generated by the disc, the bone, the facet and occasionally, the nerve root.
Dr. Corenman
PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
