The most used type of surgery for a herniated disk is the "classical" diskectomy. This is done under general anesthesia. An incision on the skin is performed, the muscles of the spine are separated from the vertebra and retracted laterally to allow the passage of the surgical instruments. Then a "window" in the vertebra is done, removing a variable amount of bone; through this opening the nerve root is identified and retracted aside, the annulus is incised and the nucleus is removed in fragments with forceps.

Microdiskectomy is the same procedure, but done under the operating microscope, this allows the surgeon to do it through a minimal incision and that the amount of bone, if needed to be removed, be insignificant. It also allows more gentle manipulation of the tissues and nerve, giving more security to the procedure. The post operative discomfort is much less than that of the classical diskectomy.

Under typical conditions, after a classical diskectomy the patient is put on analgesic medication and taken out of bed to start walking on the day after surgery and discharged from hospital in a couple of days. Return to work, depending on the job, usually is in 4 to 8 weeks.

After a microdiskectomy is common that the patient gets up, walks and goes home the same day of surgery, or at the most the next day. Discomfort and pain the the surgical site is minimal and allow the patient to moves more freely at home.