Background: Lower back pain with radiculopathy due to a disc herniation occurs in about 0.01% of pregnant females. Surgical intervention is seldom required unless there is intractable pain, and for a significant neurological deficit. Further, the use of intraoperative ionizing radiation may adversely affect the developing fetus.
Case description: A 25-year-old female, 17-weeks pregnant, presented with right lower extremity sciatica due to a L4-5 unilateral disc herniation. She underwent a microdiscectomy that required just one intraoperative C-arm fluoroscopic image. Postoperatively, her leg pain resolved, and she delivered a healthy baby at term.
Conclusion: Using single-image C-arm fluoroscopy in a pregnant female undergoing an emergent lumbar discectomy, employing as low as reasonably achievable/shielding, did not adversely impact the developing fetus.
Keywords: Ionizing radiation; Microdiscectomy; Pregnancy.
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