Intradiscal electrothermal therapy is a slightly intrusive therapy for chronic low back pain that arise from certain type of painful degenerated disc syndrome and disc herniation. The Intradiscal electrothermal therapy is also called IDET, after successful completion of Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy most patients experience a potential reduction in pain without any surgery of disc removal and spinal fusion. The Intradiscal electrothermal therapy is carried by fusing a small tube called catheter directly into the disc and heating the disc. The whole procedure takes an hour to be completed, the process is done on an outpatient basis and many discs can be treated within a single session
The process
The process of Intradiscal electrothermal therapy is initiated by an introductory discogram test in which the lower disc or discs that are considered the cause of back pain is scanned with the MRI and injected with a contrasting pigmentation, the examination helps identify the small tears and disc herniations in the back of the disc. Once the problematic disc is recognized the patient is taken to the procedure room and is allowed to lay face down on the examination table, a moderate sedation is given intravenously to make sure the patient feels comfortable during the entire process, a soft catheter is infused into the aimed disc under the guidance of an X-ray and placed into the correct position, the catheter is heated to 90 degree Celsius for 15 to 16 minutes. The catheter is removed and soon the disc is injected with local anesthetic and antibiotics to avoid any uneasiness and risk of infections
Soon after the procedure the patients are usually allowed to wear a lower back brace in the early recovery period, after two months of wearing braces the patients undergo four weeks of physical therapy including the exercises that strengthens the muscles of the lower back and are encouraged to carry on with the light routinely activities
Potential Risks and Complications with IDET
The risks are attached in very rare case to Intradiscal electrothermal therapy if performed by an expert physician, however the risks arise in very rare cases the risks might be easily controlled and include;
- Disc space infection
- Nerve root injury
- Post treatment disc herniation
- Worsened back pain
Contraindications to IDET
- Obesity
- Significant reliance on narcotic pain medications either before or after IDET treatment
- Significant disc space narrowing
- Large disc herniations
- Diffuse disc degeneration
- Three or more symptomatic discs
In case you or any of your loved one is suffering from any chronic back pain and looking for a safe and cost-effective treatment, get a professional advice from Dr. Zaki Anwar by placing an appointment at 815-464-7212. He is a world renowned Pain Medicine Physician who has been practicing regenerative injection therapies for the past several years with remarkable results.