Perfect Disc Solutions – Jeffrey Larson, MD

Disc injury and subsequent degenerative disc disease is a major component of low back pain and disability. Advanced treatment techniques now include both cellular and surgical options to intervene in the degenerative disc cascade. It is becoming apparent that if disc degeneration is allowed to progress unchecked over time, that back pain and disability progress as well.

“Perfect Disc Solutions” is a collection of treatments designed by Neurosurgeon Dr. Jeffrey Larson. Dr. Larson has combined science and surgery to address the various levels of degenerative disc disease, from simple disc injury to more complex disc failure and instability.

LEVEL 1

Disc Injury

If you suffer a disc injury and are advised to leave it alone, think again. PRP (platelet rich plasma) has been shown to down regulate the proteases that degenerate the disc. A PRP injection soon after the injury may help prevent further disc degeneration.

Cellular medicine appears to be a viable and effective early intervention to disc injury and may help delay or prevent disc degeneration. You may consider a stem cell injection at the same time depending on the degree of injury seen with imaging.

LEVEL 2

Disc Herniation

If you herniate a disc and have nerve impingement with radiculopathy, then surgery be your best treatment. Rather than simply removing the herniated disc or even fusing the disc, you may consider Dr. Larson’s “Perfect Discectomy”. The perfect discectomy refers to a procedure designed by Dr. Larson that combines the microsurgical removal of the herniated disc fragment with repair of the annular defect, and then PRP injection into the injured disc to help recovery and attempt to slow and prevent further disc degeneration.

LEVEL 3

Degenerative Disc Disease

Disc degenerative with loss of disc height and bone spuring is very difficult to treat with typical nonoperative methods and surgery. Current surgery options often include fusion.

Dr. Larson will help you determine if a degenerative disc is a source of your pain by performing a selective diagnostic injection directed precisely at the degenerated disc. If this injection confirms that you have discogenic back pain, then you may consider a cellular injection including stem cells to treat the degenerative disc.

LEVEL 4

Degenerative Disc Disease with Stenosis

If you have degenerative disc disease so advanced that you now have stenosis with pinched nerves than you may need surgery to get pain relief. Surgery recommendations often include laminectomy with or without fusion.

Dr. Larson’s “Perfect Laminectomy” is a less invasive surgery designed to treat this difficult problem. This minimally invasive combined cellular medicine and surgery technique designed by Dr. Larson includes a “pinched nerve specific” laminectomy, medial facetectomy, and nerve root decompression followed by a stem cell injection into the degenerative disc to attempt to help you halt its progression further down the degenerative disc disease cascade.

This non-fusion technique preserves motion and lets you recover faster.

LEVEL 5

Disc Instability

Some cases of disc injury, disc herniation, disc degeneration, or stenosis, are unstable and require surgery for stability and pain relief. Dr. Larson performs both artificial disc replacement surgery and minimally invasive fusion depending on the case. Dr. Larson’s microneurosurgical techniques are the least invasive available, and offer you a quicker recovery, less risk, and faster return to your normal activity.

LEVEL 1

Disc Injury

LEVEL 2

Disc Herniation

LEVEL 3

Degenerative Disc Disease

Disc degenerative with loss of disc height and bone spuring is very difficult to treat with typical nonoperative methods and surgery. Current surgery options often include fusion.

LEVEL 4

Degenerative Disc Disease with Stenosis

This non-fusion technique preserves motion and lets you recover faster.

LEVEL 5

Disc Instability

Treating Your Back Pain

Proper and successful treatment of your low back pain starts with identifying the sources of your pain through an accurate diagnosis. This is crucial. You need an accurate diagnosis in order to move forward with treatment.

Getting an accurate diagnosis is often more challenging than the treatment itself, but with Dr. Larson it doesn’t have to be frustrating. Dr. Larson is a master diagnostician with more than 30 years of Neurosurgery training and clinical experience. Dr. Larson has developed the skillset and organized the resources to help you figure out what is causing your spine problem very efficiently.

Dr. Larson performs key diagnostic steps necessary to determine how much of your pain relates to any anatomic abnormality seen on imaging, and therefore, how much pain relief you should expect if you correct the abnormality. This analytical approach to diagnosis includes proven clinical and scientific methods. Dr. Larson’s level of detail and experience gives you the best chance of proper diagnoses and treatment.