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What is a 'root block', the treatment that Alberto Fernández will receive for his herniated lumbar disc

2023-03-15T02:00:31.723Z


The President had to be treated at the Otamendi Sanatorium due to severe back pain. He will be treated between Thursday and Friday. The procedure is done in the operating room but it is not surgery, but an infiltration.


The new medical report on the health of Alberto Fernández, who had to be transferred for medical attention to the Otamendi Sanatorium, speaks of having to undergo a

"root block"

due to a

herniated lumbar disc

.

According to the specialists, root blocks have been performed for

about 40 years for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes

in patients with radicular pain, that produced by hernias that affect the spine and the spinal cord it contains.

It is a procedure performed by

traumatologists and neurosurgeons

.

"The block is to apply a needle with corticosteroid that is placed where the disc herniation occurs. It is a simple and safe process that is done

in the operating room but with local anesthesia,"

specialized sources explained

to Clarín.

"Only the needle is inserted, nothing is cut,

it is not surgery but a kind of infiltration

," they clarify.

Eladio Vecchi, osteopath and kinesiologist, provides details about the treatment he will give the President.

"The block

is minimally invasive

and consists of the

percutaneous introduction of a fine needle

in order to infiltrate

a corticosteroid and anesthetic

into the facet joint of a segment of the spine, to

block the nerve branch causing the pain

and reduce inflammation in the area" , says Vecchi, who is a disseminator and columnist on health issues for the TN channel.

And he advances on the comprehensive treatment: "Pain relief

can last for months

and sometimes even remits the condition permanently if it is accompanied by correct

rehabilitation and lumbar training

.

"The intention is

to deposit the medication, generally local anesthetic with or without corticosteroids

, next to the place where the inflammation of the nerve root is, guided by fluoroscopy and the use of contrast solutions", explain, for their part, the nucleated doctors in Arydol, a specialized Spanish site.

There they differentiate between different terms, "selective root block" and "transforaminal epidural block", which are frequently used for the same purpose, but both are procedures with different indications.

Alberto Fernández, upon leaving the Otamendi sanatorium.

They will do a root block in her lumbar disc herniation on Thursday or Friday. Photo Enrique García Medina

"The transforaminal epidural block is used

to treat radicular pain

. The solution is injected at the periradicular foraminal level and is distributed to the epidural space, being able to extend to the space adjacent to the level made. The radiological image that appears when administering a contrast solution shows the contour of the nerve root and sometimes distribution towards the epidural space. In this block, the diagnostic information is limited by the lack of specificity, as the medication can be distributed through several vertebral levels", the specialists report.

Alberto Fernández's lumbar hernia

This Tuesday, under absolute secrecy, after 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, presidential custody arrived at the Otamendi Sanatorium in the Recoleta neighborhood, to prepare for the arrival of Alberto Fernández.

The president is suffering from severe back pain and entered the health center to undergo medical studies.

They performed

an MRI that revealed a hernia in the L2 to L4 vertebrae

.


After the information was revealed by Clarín, the Government published an official statement informing that Fernández suffered from "acute low back pain" and that he would undergo diagnostic studies.

Finally, the resonance gave that diagnosis and they decided

not to block the pain tonight

and he left the Otamendi with the first lady Fabiola Yañez after 9:30 p.m.

According to the Presidential Medical Unit, the blocking procedure will be carried out on the President

between Thursday and Friday

.

DS

look also

New presidential medical report on the health of Alberto Fernández: he has a herniated disc

Alberto Fernández leaves the Otamendi sanatorium: an MRI confirmed a lumbar hernia

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2023-03-15

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