UPDATE: reply from surgeon’s PA on similar query, this makes more sense to me now, but would still be good to hear your thoughts based on MRI and proposed plan.
UPDATE from surgeon’s office:
This procedure (Minimally invasive laminectomy) is basically almost the same as the first lower back surgery you had–the Microdiscectomy. It just differs in that we do not remove an extruded disc fragment. We just remove the little portion of the bone that is pinching the nerve. So it is actually a smaller procedure than the Microdiscectomy and you do not have as many postop restrictions. It is outpatient so you will go home the same day. Just no BLT for 2 weeks after surgery then get you into PT. But you can do the elliptical, bike, walk on the treadmill 2 weeks after surgery. You can lift your daughter but I would be careful in the first several days/week after surgery and use proper lifting techniques:)
We would only remove something at the time of the procedure. If it is just a broad-based disc bulge we don’t remove that because we would have to cut a hole in the disc and that could cause more disc material coming out after surgery and having to go back in. When we get down there and if we see any extruded material we will remove that and if there is already a hole in the disc we will interrogate that but we try really hard not to create our own hole in the annulus.