Intraoperative Measurements of Nerve Root Blood Flow During Discectomy for Lumbar Disc Herniation

Abstract

The results of the current study suggest that immediate relief from pain and resolution of neurologic deficits soon after surgery are the result of early recovery from nerve root ischemia after discectomy, and that ischemia caused by mechanical nerve root compression is mainly related to the mechanisms underlying sciatic pain production and neurologic deficits.