FAQ’s on Lumbar Discogram Procedure
Once the skin has been numbed, a catheter will be guided into the disc through the use of fluoroscopic imaging (a series of X-rays taken to generate a current image of the location of the catheter). Once placed correctly, a dye will be injected into the disc.
This will allow the disc to be visible during other imaging techniques, providing the physician a means to examine the disc. It is common for more than one disc to be examined in a single procedure. The minimum number of examined discs is two: a healthy disc to serve as point-of-comparison, and the disc in question that may be the source of pain.
Even though the patient must remain partially awake during a discogram, there should be no adverse reaction. The dye that is injected into a healthy disc will not create a reaction within the patient and should not be felt as anything but pressure.
The dye injected into a damaged disc will feel similar to the symptomatic pains being experienced prior to the discogram, and should be reported to the physician immediately. If the pain felt during this injection is similar to previous symptoms, it is likely that the disc being injected is the actual source of pain.
What are the risks of a Lumbar Discogram?
There is the normal small chance of infection, bleeding, swelling, or pain at the site of injection. Other than these, there is little risk associated with this procedure. It is possible for the placement of the catheter to disturb a spinal root, resulting in an inflammatory response and some pain, but this will often fade in a few days without the need for further treatment.
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