Sciatica management: chemonucleolysis vs. surgical discectomy.

True sciatica, and the back pain associated with it, are symptoms stemming from a common anatomical lumbar distortion--compression of a spinal nerve root. Two therapeutic approaches have evolved: surgical laminectomy and discectomy for relief of compression of a lumbar nerve root; and chemonucleolysis, a tissue modification technique using the intradiscal injection of the proteolytic enzyme chymopapain. Chemonucleolysis has been demonstrated to have a successful outcome at the 75% level in 6 weeks and at the 80% level in 6 months. Lumbar microdiscectomy appears to be 85% effective at 3 months.