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2021-Dec-24 1566

How Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression (PLDD) Works

How Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression (PLDD) Works

Laser treatment for lumbar disc herniation has been in practice since the 1980s, so this technique’s track record is very promising. PLDD works by evaporating water in the nucleus pulposus, the inner core of the vertebral disc (This excess fluid presses on the sciatic nerve, causing pain). By removing this fluid, the pressure is lessened on the sciatic nerve, bringing relief.

This procedure has been a good alternative to conventional surgery because it is low invasive and reduces the risk of damage to muscles, bones, ligaments, and nerves. Although the symptoms improve almost immediately after performing the conventional surgery, the actual sciatica recovery takes a long time. But, the patients have to deal with less severe low back pain, shorter hospitalization, and shorter recovery time after PLDD compared to the conventional method.

A study indicated that PLDD, as a minimally invasive method, reduces pain and disability in patients with lumbar disc herniation. 

PLDD is performed under local anesthesia via a laser fiber percutaneously inserted into the nucleus pulposus. The irradiation is applied through the fiber to vaporize the nucleus pulposus contents. Discogenic pain can be relieved with PLDD which causes disc size decrease through water loss. In vitro studies confirm that a small decrease in volume of inter vertebral disc can cause significantly a large reduction of intradiscal pressure. The short-term decrease in pressure within the nucleus pulposus is caused by evaporation of water content; long-time effects may be due to protein denaturation, which in turn decreases the nucleus ability in reducing disc stiffness and reabsorption of additional water[1].

If you are experiencing lower back pain but want to avoid the long recovery time of traditional surgery, our M2 percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) model with 980nm+1470nm may be the treatment best suited for the condition.

[1] Sirous Momenzadeh, Alireza Koosha, The Effect of Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression on Reducing Pain and Disability in Patients With Lumbar Disc Herniation[J]. Journal of Lasers 2018 Winter;10(1):29-32,December 15, 2018.