Lumbar microdiscectomy, also called microlumbar discectomy (MLD), is one of the most common and successful minimally invasive surgeries to treat lumbar herniated discs and spinal stenosis. During this surgery, Dr. Kern Singh removes part of the herniated disc that is pressing on nerves. In this decompression surgery, the patient lies on his or her stomach. A spine surgeon will perform the procedure by first making a small incision, about 1 to 2 cm in the patient’s back. Through the use of special instrumentation, the surgeon is able to access the spine with little disruption or cutting of the surrounding soft tissue and muscles, resulting in less muscle injury than a traditional discectomy procedure. The surgeon then expertly removes a portion of bone to provide access to remove a piece of the disc that has herniated through the annulus fibrosus (outer wall) and is compressing the spinal nerve. The minimally invasive outpatient procedure takes about an hour to perform and most people are discharged home within a few hours.