Lumbar discectomy is a type of surgery to fix a disc in the lower back. This surgery uses smaller cuts (incisions) than an open lumbar discectomy. Your backbone, or spinal column, is made up of a chain of bones called the vertebrae. Your spinal cord runs through the spinal column.
The surgeon makes an incision (cut) over the affected section of spine down to the lamina (bony arch of your vertebra), to access the compressed nerve. The nerve will be pulled back towards the center of the spinal column and part of the bone or ligament pressing on the nerve will be removed.
It will take about 4 to 6 weeks for you to reach your expected level of mobility and function (this will depend on the severity of your condition and symptoms before the operation). When you wake up after lumbar decompression surgery, your back may feel sore and you'll probably be attached to 1 or more tubes.
You can expect your back to feel stiff or sore after surgery. This should improve in the weeks after surgery. You may have relief from your symptoms right away, or you may get better over days or weeks. In the weeks after your surgery, it may be hard to sit or stand in one position for very long.