A Male Patient in His 60s Came to Our Clinic Seeking an Alternative to Surgery

Male, in his 60s

Condition/Symptoms

• Spinal Canal Stenosis
• Spondylolisthesis
• Sciatica

Patient Condition

This patient has been experiencing sciatic nerve pain for about 3 years. At the end of last year, he was diagnosed with lumbar spondylolisthesis at a hospital near his home, and oral treatment was started. As there was no improvement, in June he was advised to undergo surgery, but the patient refused and visited our clinic.

Examination

The lumbar MRI examination shows deformity of the disc between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae, with the 4th vertebra shifted. There is narrowing of the spinal canal, which also causes spinal canal stenosis and sciatic pain.

Treatment Details

Discseel® Procedure

The Discseel Procedure was performed to repair the disc, with the aim of improving disc function and reducing sciatic nerve pain caused by spondylolisthesis.

In this procedure, we use both local anesthesia and sedation simultaneously, providing a synergistic effect for pain relief.

With the help of fluoroscopy equipment, we are able to precisely insert the treatment tube into the disc.

The disc examination is in progress. The Discseel Procedure is only performed if damaged areas are found.

X-ray image before (left) and after (right) treatment. The treatment duration was 23 minutes.

Director's Comments

This week, I took leave due to children's sports activities, and Deputy Director Ishida managed the clinic. On Thursday, I returned to work and immediately attended to a patient from overseas, making the day quite busy. Tomorrow, I have to wake up at 5 AM for a business trip to the Tokyo clinic, so I will sleep early tonight.

Our Hanshin Tigers team is on a winning streak. The Giants in first place are also fighting hard, but hopefully, in the end, we can catch up and overtake them.