Lumbar Degenerative Disc Case Study

42 year old man with unrelenting low back pain. He has difficulty sitting and feels better laying down. He had done therapy for 6 years and injections without relief. He had a previous discectomy for a disc herniation 15 years ago. Xray shows significant disc degeneration. The height of the disc (arrow) is significantly lower than a normal disc (star).

Because of failure of extensive nonoperative management, patient underwent an anterior lumbar interbody fusion minimally invasively. The disc height was restored.