Procedure corrects severe lower back pain
January 28, 2009
4:00 PM EST Live from Baptist Hospital in Miami, FL

Sergio Gonzalez-Arias, M.D., chief of neurological surgery and medical director of Baptist Hospital's Neuroscience Center, will perform a minimally invasive lumbar discectomy on Wednesday, January 28, at 4 p.m. The webcast will be moderated by Dr. Sean Kenniff, former healthcare reporter for WFOR-CBS Channel 4. Viewers can also choose to watch the procedure in Spanish.

A minimally invasive lumbar discectomy is performed to correct a herniated disc in the lower back. The surgery involves delicate instrumentation that allows the surgeon to operate through a small incision, spreading muscles rather than cutting them. Compared to open surgical procedures, minimally invasive spine surgery has many advantages, including less blood loss, less pain, smaller incisions and a faster recovery. Most patients can go home the day of surgery. Continued