Hernia Treatment and Ozone
Ozone is an allotropic form of oxygen symbolized by O3 with a molecular weight of 48 kDa. It was discovered by the German chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1840, and hundreds of scientists have done countless studies on ozone since then. These studies have proven that ozone has beneficial effects in almost every field. Today, many more advanced scientific medical studies on ozone are carried out.
Lumbar hernia is a clinical disease that causes pain, numbness and loss of sensation in the waist and legs, which limits the daily activities of the patient. There are cushion-shaped anatomical structures called discs between the spinal bones. The outer layers of these structures are called the annulus fibrosus and are in the form of a hard fibrous ring. The middle-inner part is called the nucleus pulposus, it is composed of a soft-gel-like substance. When this structure herniates, they press on the nerve root that gives branches to the lower back and leg coming out of the spinal cord. In this way, severe pain in the waist-hip, severe pain in the leg, contraction and numbness are observed.
As a treatment; drug therapy, physical therapy, minimally invasive methods (intradiscal ozone injection, epidural steroid injection, facet joint injection, medial branch block) and surgery can be planned. Intradiscal ozone injection can be performed in cases of herniated disc, especially in cases that do not respond to drug therapy and physical therapy.
Intradiscal ozone injection, also known as ozone nucleolysis, is a method applied in all waist and neck hernias, degenerated disc disease. It is applied under completely sterile conditions in the operating room environment, accompanied by imaging devices. It is applied to patients who are clinically diagnosed with lumbar or neck hernia and who have lumbar-neck hernia in MRI images. Patients are not given anesthesia. Under local anesthesia, the disc with the hernia is entered and ozone is injected into it. The process takes approximately 10-20 minutes. After the procedure, the patient is sent to the service and taken to the bed and is asked to lie on his back for 2 hours. The general situation is evaluated and the patient is discharged on the same day. The patient’s clinical pain decreases or disappears.
With the ozone injection into the hernia, the shrinkage process in the hernia begins and lasts up to six to eight months radiologically. As the hernia gets smaller, the pressure on the nerve disappears and the complaints such as pain, numbness and limitation of movement in the patient decrease. The patient recovers from pain and returns to work and daily activities in a healthy way. In this way, the hernia is reduced and eliminated without the need for surgery. The procedure is done once, but in rare cases, a second injection may be needed. Two-week, two-month and six-month checks are made. In the sixth month, a control MRI is taken. The hernia image in the old MRI is compared with the newly obtained MRI, and the shrinkage in the hernia is shown radiologically. The method has an 80-85% chance of success.
It is a safe application with almost no complications. Some patients experience temporary pain, heaviness and burning sensation after the procedure.
Surgical option is the last option that can only be used in cases where there is pain that does not respond to any treatment, thinning of the arms or legs, or loss of reflexes. Now, the place of open surgery in the treatment of lumbar and neck hernia is very limited. The fear that you will be paralyzed is not true.
These non-scalpel solutions have no side effects in skilled hands, they are carried out in a short time, do not require anesthesia, and patients can go home within 2-3 hours after the procedure, which increases the attractiveness of these methods and causes us to face an excessive demand.
Wishing you healthy days…
Exp. Dr. Kürşat Rose
