The Discseel® Procedure

What is the Discseel^® Procedure?

The Discseel Procedure is a minimally-invasive, non-surgical procedure that utilizes fibrin, a natural biologic formed from fibrinogen during the blood clotting process. Fibrinogen is a protein present in blood plasma from which, using the enzyme thrombin, the body creates fibrin. Fibrin then forms a fibrous mesh that impedes blood flow and encourages new tissue to grow, healing cuts and tears. The Discseel Procedure utilizes your body’s natural healing processes and applies them through a precise X-Ray guided injection to your spinal discs, which cannot heal themselves without assistance. 

The Discseel Procedure is a regenerative spine procedure that is an excellent choice for athletes or anyone with an active lifestyle that would like to restore their mobility. This procedure is commonly used to heal the following conditions:

• Annular Tears
• Degenerative Disc Disease
• Herniated Discs
• Sciatica
• Chronic Lower Back Pain

How the Discseel Procedure Heals Spinal Discs

Your spinal discs are made up of the annulus fibrosus and the nucleus pulposus. The annulus fibrosus is the outer portion of the disc, made of 22-25 layers of fibrous collagen rings. These rings encase the nucleus pulposus. The nucleus pulposus is the inner layer of your spinal discs and is a jelly-like substance that will leak if not contained by the annulus fibrosus. This leakage then causes inflammation and irritation of surrounding spinal nerves and nerves contained in the annulus fibrosus, leading to back pain as well as pain in the extremities, such as the arms, hands, legs, and feet.

Although spinal discs are meant to absorb shock, repeated stress or traumatic injuries can wear them down over time. This eventually leads to the development of annular tears, but a patient won’t experience pain unless the nucleus pulposus begins to leak through these tears.

Annular tears are a common cause of spinal disc conditions like degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, sciatica, and general chronic lower back pain. Unfortunately, the spinal disc cannot heal these tears naturally due to the lack of blood flow to spinal discs. In addition to this, these tears cannot be sewn because of how fragile the outer layer of the spinal disc is. However, the fibrin used in the Discseel Procedure is able to seal annular tears, stopping the nucleus pulposus from leaking and stopping painful chemical inflammation and irritation. Fibrin then encourages the spinal discs to grow new tissue over the course of a year, completing the healing process.

Just about everyone older than the age of 18 has annular tears in their spinal discs. While for some people, these tears will go unnoticed and produce no pain, for others, these tears will lead to painful and debilitating symptoms that affect their quality of life. This is when a solution like the Discseel® Procedure is necessary.

What to Expect from the Discseel Procedure

Once we’ve determined that you are a candidate for the Discseel Procedure, the process will begin with an in-person consultation. During this consultation, you’ll have the opportunity to speak directly with Dr. Shiple about any prior tests, procedures, injections, or surgeries you’ve undergone in order for him to gain an understanding of your history. The consultation will also include a physical examination. This is a great opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have so that you’ll feel confident about this procedure. 

After the consultation, the procedure will begin, using an Annulogram to identify even the most subtle annular tears so they can be treated before they lead to greater problems. Once the Annulogram detects a tear, fibrin is injected into the torn spinal disc to immediately seal it.

Following the Discseel Procedure, you’ll rest in recovery for about 30 minutes, after which you’ll be able to head back home or to your hotel. You’ll even be able to be up and moving within 24 hours! We recommend walking with assistance the day after your procedure and increasing your activity level each day after that by about 10% until you’re back to your desired level of activity. Most patients report feeling full relief about 3-6 months after their procedure.