Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 2006; 10(2): 125-136
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-939030
Copyright © 2006 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Intradiscal Therapies for Discogenic Pain

Stuart R. Pomerantz1 , 2 , Joshua A. Hirsch1 , 2
  • 1Department of Neuroradiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
  • 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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Publikationsverlauf

Publikationsdatum:
01. April 2006 (online)

ABSTRACT

Since the first injection of chymopapain in 1963, percutaneous intradiscal therapies have been used to treat discogenic back and leg pain. The percutaneous discectomy techniques treat contained disc herniations not by resecting the prolapsed disc material but rather through central decompression of the disc. By removing a small volume of tissue from the disc nucleus, a large reduction in overall disc pressure is achieved with consequent relief of neural compression. DISC Nucleoplasty™ and Dekompressor™ are the two leading percutaneous discectomy technologies currently. Although rigorous clinical testing of their efficacy is ongoing, there has now been a 40-year history confirming the concept of percutaneous disc decompression, and initial results are very promising. Discogenic low back pain can also arise from annular tears and other forms of internal disc derangement (IDD). Annuloplasty techniques, such as IntraDiscal Electrothermal Therapy (IDET™) and discTRODE™, have been developed over the past decade that thermally treat the lesions of IDD. Although the therapeutic mechanisms of thermal annuloplasty have yet to be fully elucidated, research studies demonstrate that the procedure can be effective for appropriately selected patients with degenerative disc disease characterized by discographically proven painful annular fissures. Other novel intradiscal therapies are emerging for percutaneous treatment of discogenic pain and await more widespread clinical evaluation.

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Joshua A HirschM.D. 

Interventional Neuroradiology, Massachusetts General Hospital

55 Fruit Street, GRB 289, Boston, MA 02114