In this gallery of images we go through a microdiscectomy performed at our outpatient surgical center.  This is a 40 year old active duty serviceman with a large herniated nucleus pulposus at the L5.S1 level on the right side.  This sequence of pictures documents the steps that we follow as we move from the pre-anesthetic phase of the operation, through induction of anesthesia, positioning and prepping and draping, and then through the actual operation itself.  Finally, we close the skin with an absorbable suture, apply a layer of dermabond which seals the skin, and then take the patient back to the post-anesthetic care unit so that he can go home on the same day as the operation.

The surgical incision is sewn up with an absorbable suture and then steri-strips are placed perpendicular to the incision.  On top of the steri-strips I use a transparent dressing called “Tegaderm”.  This dressing sticks to the skin very well and it should be left on until the 1st post-operative visit.  Underneath the Tegaderm dressing the steri-strips are left in place until they fall off by themselves, which usually takes another 5 days or so.