MicroEndoscopic Discectomy System (MED)…
Performed for the first time in Northwest Indiana and Southeast Chicagoland
at Saint Margaret Mercy’s South Campus

For Immediate Release
June 24, 1999
Contact: Maria E. Ramos
(219) 865-2141, ext. 45321
Maria.Ramos@ssfhs.org

Dyer, Ind. -- Relief is now available for patients with lower lumbar disc herniations who have exhausted conservative treatment methods.

Dr. Patrick Sweeney, Munster orthopedic surgeon on staff at Saint Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers, is one of five physicians nationwide who performs lumbar microdiscectomy using the MicroEndoscopic Discectomy (MED) System.

The procedure -- which was performed for the first time in Northwest Indiana and Southeast Chicagoland at Saint Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers’ South Campus in Dyer one month ago -- uses a combination of surgical endoscope and microsurgical techniques for a less invasive surgery and speedier recovery time.

“The first version of the lumbar microdiscectomy was introduced on the market two years ago, but I was not happy with it,” Dr. Sweeney said. “I waited until the product improved, which it did with the arrival of MED. The optics are definitely better than what I saw in the original version.”

Dr. Sweeney traveled to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., to observe another surgeon using the MED system, then tested the procedure while performing cadaver surgeries.

“There is no muscle damage with the MED procedure,” he said. “Rather than peeling the muscle off the bone and injuring it, we operate right through the muscle using the MED( dilators.”

The MED procedure benefits patients who have a ruptured disc pinching a spinal nerve root causing:

• Leg pain that limits normal daily activities.
• Weakness in the legs or feet.
• Numbness in the extremities.
• Impaired bowel and/or bladder function.

The candidate for the MED procedure does not respond to medication treatment, therapy or epidural injections. The MED system is not indicated for full-bodied patients who may be better candidates for microdiscectomy on an outpatient basis.

“Surgery using the MED( system takes about two hours,” Dr. Sweeney said. “It requires only a small incision and removes only the portion of the ruptured disc that is pinching one or more spinal nerve roots.”

Patient recovery time is usually less than in traditional lumbar surgery with the patient quickly returning to a functional level. The patient may resume sedentary work in a few days to weeks, depending on the type of work performed.

Outcomes will be tracked by an outside firm to verify surgical outcome data.

Dr. Sweeney also teams with Dr. Russell Pellar, Munster surgeon, to perform anterior lumbar fusions using prosthetic bone dowels and intradiscal electro-thermy for patients who are not surgical candidates. Thirty percent of Dr. Sweeney’s practice involves microscopic surgery of the neck.