Degenerative disc disease (DDD) and spinal fusion implies that the disc is degenerative and is responsible for the generation of back or neck pain. Usually the involved disc is in the lumbar area. The disc is generally dehydrated (has lost its water content) and has small ruptures into the bone above and below the disc space. This has been shown to cause pain and may be partially responsible for instability.

The treatment for painful degenerative disc disease may include physical therapy, injections, IDET (intradiscal electrothermy) or surgery.

Finally, this center is a world-leader in the treatment of painful disc conditions using the IDET procedure. This intradiscal electrothermy technique does not require a skin incision and is performed completely percutaneoulsy through a tiny needle insertion. A small catheter is inserted into the disc and the tip of the catheter is heated. This caused disc shrinkage and deadens the nerve endings in the disc. This is an outpatient procedure performed in the awake (sedated) patient. All patients go home the same day and may return to their usual level of function the following day.

The most common surgery performed for degenerative disc disease is spinal fusion. Spinal fusion is the surgical joining of one vertebral body to another. This surgery can be performed through an anterior (front) or posterior (back) approach. Both approaches require surgical incisions to expose the spine. The surgery may include removal of the intervertebral disc with insertion of bone or metal "cages" (spacers). When the disc is removed and a cage or spacer is placed, the surgery is known as an "interbody fusion."

The posterior procedure may involve the removal of the intervertebral disc as described above. In addition, bone (pedicle) screws may be used to provide internal support as the fusion occurs. Bone may be obtained from the hip area and this will be placed alongside the spine to further the bone fusion. The combination of bone and internal support is called an "instrumented lumbar fusion."

(left) BAK fusion cages; (right) insertion of anterior interbody fusion cage.