Another First for Blackrock Clinic as First Percutaneous Endoscopic Discectomy Performed Here

30th Jan 2016

Some of the best Medical and Surgical Consultants in the country work at Blackrock Clinic. This is because we support them in new surgical techniques and provide them with the cutting edge facilities they need to do so.

Once again, a new and minimally invasive technique is being pioneered in Blackrock Clinic’s operating theatres.   Mr Martin Murphy FRCSI (Neurosurgery) has successfully performed the first Irish Percutaneous Endoscopic Discectomy in Blackrock Clinic.

This is a ground-breaking procedure which relieves back-related leg pain. Because of its minimally invasive nature, it causes less muscle damage and patients experience much faster recovery times as a result.

For this reason, the procedure is the first choice for continental sportspeople and Chelsea Captain John Terry successfully underwent the procedure.

The Percutaneous Discectomy is a great example of the pioneering spirit of many of the consultants who operate from Blackrock Clinic. Two Consultant Neurosurgeons, Mr Martin Murphy, and Mr Michael Kelleher, researched the technique and travelled to St Anna Hospital, Herne, Germany. They trained there under Mr Sebastian Ruetten, a leading practitioner in this minimally invasive technique. And then they brought the idea here.

Minimally invasive procedures are the future of surgery. At Blackrock Clinic we have pioneered many of the newest minimally invasive techniques and continue to invest in the equipment needed by leading surgeons to perform these techniques.

In time, many surgical procedures will only be done minimally invasively because of the better patient outcomes.

The procedure is covered by many medical insurance policies