Once the needle has been placed, a fiber optics endoscope is driven through it, to the center of the disk. This device allows the surgeon to see the nucleus and at the same time has another fiber to conduct the laser beam which will ablate, evaporate, the disk material. Once the surgeon is curtain that the space he has produced in the center of the disk is enough, the endoscope and needle are taken out.

As this procedure is done under local anesthesia, the patient is taken immediately after to his room. Typically the patient is discharged walking from hospital the same day, a few hours after he was admitted. Going back to work, depending on the patients occupation, could be in 2 to 6 weeks.

Unfortunately not all the patients can benefit from this kind of surgery, it depends on the characteristics of the disk herniation. For example, if the disk has ruptured the annulus (external ring) and outer ligaments, or there is a detached fragment of disk, a classical diskectomy will have to be undertaken.