Discogram
Discograms are useful in pre-surgical planning for patients considering fusion surgery who have had ongoing significant pain anywhere along the spine, from the neck (cervical pain), to the mid-back (thoracic pain), down to the low-back (lumbar pain).
What are the anticipated benefits?
The benefit of a Discogram is that it creates a clear "road-map" of your pain that is used by a surgeon in preparing for spine fusion surgery. It is simply a diagnostic test, meaning it pin-points the source of pain by deliberately provoking the symptoms, without treatment.
Discograms are reserved for patients who have not responded to medications and conservative treatments, such as bed rest, traction or physical therapy.
How does it work?
A Discogram takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour.
You will be positioned on a special table in our Diagnostic and Therapeutic Injections (DTI) suite. The C-arm (a special x-ray machine) can be rotated to allow the radiologist to monitor the injection to make sure he is precise in targeting the pain source. In addition, the table can be easily rotated to help the contrast dye move to the area of interest.
Depending on where your pain is, you may lie on your stomach (for mid- to low-back pain) or your back (for neck pain).
Our radiologist will insert a thin needle containing contrast material into the center of your disc(s) thought to be causing your pain. He will inject the contrast material to help highlight what is happening in your spine.
Since this procedure is to map your pain, the radiologist needs to "awaken" the pain and have you talk through what you are feeling to properly pinpoint the source. So, if a healthy disc is injected, you will feel little or no pain and contrarily if the disc is not healthy, your pain may intensify.
As soon as that symptom has been recorded, our radiologist will numb the disc with a local anesthetic to reduce or eliminate the pain.
Are there any risks or negative side affects?
Complication rates with Discograms are very low.
As with all injection procedures, the contrast dye contains iodine, so patients with a known allergy to iodine may have an adverse reaction. However, because the contrast is injected into a joint and not a vein, allergic reactions are rare.
Women should always inform their physician or CDI technologist if there is any possibility that they are pregnant or breast feeding.
A dedicated driver will need to drive you home after a Discogram procedure. If you do not have a driver, we can help make special arrangements.
NOTE: This procedure is not performed in our St. Louis market.
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