Discography: the decisive factor in the choice of percutaneous or surgical treatment of the herniated lumbar disc

Over a period of 4.5 years, 977 discograms were performed on 774 patients, with a complication, septic dis-citis in only one case. Six hundred and eighty-one patients underwent percutaneous treatment of the herniated lumbar disc [chemonucleolysis or nucleoaspiration (Onik procedure)], while in the remaining 93 patients the disco-graphic findings contraindicated percutaneous treatment. Discography plays two important roles, one diagnostic and the other decisional. While confirming the clinical and neuroradiological findings of disc herniation, discography verifies the correct positioning of the needle at the centre of the nucleus pulposus and proves decisive in determining the preferential treatment to be undertaken on the basis of morphological, functional and dynamic data.