taking out that portion that ruptures through the disc outer casing (disc capsule). Think of the disc as a jelly donut and the rupture as the jelly squished out through a hole. It is very close to that except that the material that comes out quickly sets firm to be similar to cooked lobster. What causes the big pain or makes you numb is the pressure this extrusion puts on the nerves passing by on their way out those side openings in the spinal canal called foramena (plural for foramen = window). Surgery also digs in deeper to get whatever might follow to avoid “rerupture” which is just more stuff coming out the same hole.

Microscopes make things look very large. Dr. Errico’s movie will show you this surgery going through a dime length mini-incision. Got your popcorn? (You may need the bag)