ABSTRACT
Cervical and lumbar spine surgeries are common; however, there is no universally accepted postoperative protocol for the treatment of these patients. Furthermore, there are often multiple acceptable surgical options for the treatment of similar spine pathology, and the events in the operating room may dictate different postoperative precautions. A lumbar microdiscectomy is a procedure in which the herniated portion of the lumbar disc is removed, but the remaining intervertebral disc is left intact. Regardless if the surgery is done through a traditional open approach, or a "minimally invasive" approach, the incision is often less than two inches in length, and there is no substantial difference in the postoperative restrictions. A lumbar fusion for degenerative pathology is performed when the patient has significant compression of the neurologic elements with associated instability. Surgical intervention is designed to address the neurologic symptoms, not axial back pain.
