IntraDiscal ElectroThermal Annuloplasty - IDET

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IntraDiscal ElectroThermal Annuloplasty (IDET) is a new technology gaining widespread acceptance for treating discogenic (disc related) pain.  Patients who are good candidates for the IDEA procedure have low back pain due to disc herniations in the lumbar spine, with little or no radiation of pain into their legs.  With the guidance of x-ray, the disc is accessed and a small thermal catheter is advanced into the disc.  Once properly positioned, the catheter is gradually heated, raising the temperature inside the disc.  The heat contracts and thickens the protein of the disc wall as well as deactivating many of the nerve endings responsible for the pain in the damaged disc.