Epidural Lysis procedure is to pass Racz epidural catheter into the epidural space and taking medicine straightaway at the site nerve injury or adhesion to reduce the pain and eliminate adhesions. The area around your spinal cord is called epidural space. With the help of X-Ray your physician enters the catheter (a small tube as think as pencil’s nip) into the region of scar tissue which exists in the spinal canal. The catheter is forwarded into the injured area with the help of real time imaging, and many more medications are expected to be used such as tissue-softening medication. Below are the steps which is followed in performing this treatment
The process is carried out as
- Before performing a treatment your doctor will go through your MRI in order to find out with nerves are culprit of producing pain, in the beginning a series of epidural steroid injections are performed to reduce and treat your pain.
- If scar tissue is identified to be the cause for your pain then the response to the epidural steroid injections might get limited, once scar tissue is confirmed to be the reason behind your pain then you will be taken through Racz procedure.
- Epidural lysis is performed by inserting local anesthetic with a small needle taking into the skin up your buttock, once the area is made numbed then a larger needle a catheter/guide wire is taken into the epidural space by using x-ray guidance for perfect placement.
- Once the catheter is confirmed to be in the desired location, from where the scar tissue is weakening the nerve root, various medications such as omnipaque, hypertonic saline, hyaluronidase, local anesthetics and steroids are taken into the space to eliminate the scar tissue and decrease the inflammation and irritation on nerve.
- This procedure can also be performed in a two day period with another injection of materials by catheter and on the following day it will be ensured lysis of scar tissue has been achieved or not.
Am I a Candidate?
You are candidate of this procedure if you have disc problems, epidural adhesions or failed back syndrome from various last surgeries for herniated lumbar disk, and in order to verify to be the right candidate you will have to go through proper consultation.
How long will this procedure take?
It does not take more than 60 minutes to complete
How long will it take to recover?
Its recovery period is up to two weeks and you will feel betterment as time passes of your treatment.
Its Outcome
Its outcome depicts effectiveness of adhesiolysis with epidural steroids for short and long term pain control and many patients have got benefited by this treatment.