Case Report: 61 Year Old Man Felt Like He was Kicked in the Groin!
Patient History
The patient is a 61-year-old man who presented to emergency room with severe back pain and right testicular groin pain. He said “It felt like I was kicked in the groin”. The medical workup identified additional right leg weakness, numbness and pain. MRI diagnosed right L3-4 slipped disk pinching the right L4 nerve.
Treatment
Patient underwent Endoscopic Laser Spine Surgery for complete removal of the herniated disk. The procedure was done comfortably under twilight sedation and patient had instant, complete pain relief after removal of the large disk fragment. Patient was discharged home pain free one hour after surgery.
Case Discussion
Testicular pain is an unusual presentation of a slipped disk herniation. If the disk becomes injured or weakens it may rupture and leak out of the disk and compress or “pinch” a nerve causing back and leg pain called sciatica.
Endoscopic Laser Spine Surgery is an advanced minimally invasive option to cure back pain. A pen-sized video camera is inserted into the spine to identify and remove the herniated disk and un-pinch the nerve. There is minimal skin or muscle damage or blood loss. Patients are discharged home the same day and benefit from shorter recovery, decreased post-operative pain and quicker return to work.