Discography

While at Portland Pain & Spine, the patient lies on their stomach while being prepared for the procedure. Medication is administered through an intravenous line to relax your nerve, as well as an anesthetic to desensitize the skin and tissue surrounding the disc area. In the procedure, a small x-ray device, referred to as a fluoroscope, is utilized to assist the physician in seeing the exact position of the disc’s location. The patient should be conscious during the procedure, providing feedback to the physician on how or what they are experiencing.

Using the fluoroscope, the physician locates the target disk. A needle, referred to as a guide needle, is inserted into the anesthetized track traversing to the fringes of the disc. A smaller needle is inserted into the guide needle to access the disc’s core. This procedure may be done to several discs, depending on how many discs are injured.

Once each needle is secured in place, each disc is pressurized and injected with contrast dye. The patient may experience either pain or an increase in pressure with every injection. If the patient experiences pain the physician will ask them to differentiate the current pain from the pre-existing pain of the condition. The pain being similar is an indicator of a diseased disc.  After each disc is tested pictures are taken through the fluoroscope.

When the procedure is complete, the needles are withdrawn. The entrance wounds are then cleaned and the patient is given a CT scan to generate more images of the interior part of the disc or discs.

Usually, a discography is accomplished in an hour or less to complete. The patient may still feel soreness from the affected area for a few more days after the procedure. The physician often advises the patient to take ibuprofen or acetaminophen and to place an ice pack on the affected area for a few minutes each day until the pain subsides.