3-d-Microdiscectomy success rate

The success rate for a 3-d-microdiscectomy is approximately 90% to 95%, although 5% to 10% of patients will develop a recurrent disc herniation at some point in the future.

A recurrent disc herniation may occur directly after back surgery or many years later, although they are most common in the first three months after surgery. If the disc does herniate again, generally a revision microdiscectomy will be just as successful as the first operation. However, after a recurrence, the patient is at higher risk of further recurrences (15 to 20% chance).

Recurrent herniated discs are not thought to be directly related to a patient's activity, and probably have more to do with the fact that within some disc spaces there are multiple fragments of disc that can come out at a later date. The hole in the disc space where the disc herniation occurs probably never regains complete strength because the disc itself does not have a blood supply. Without a good blood supply, the area has a reduced capacity to heal or scar over. There also is no way yet to surgically repair the annulus