Procedure
You will be taken to the pre op area where trained nursing staff will get you ready for the procedure, by taking vitals and reviewing your medications. Your blood sugar and coagulation status may also be checked if needed. Then you will enter the procedure room where you will lay, usually, face down on a table. The injection site is then cleaned and injection of a local numbing agent is given in the area so that you don’t feel pain during the procedure. A thin hollow needle is then inserted into the epidural space. The doctor is guided by fluoroscopic X-ray to place the needle in the correct position.
This system gives real time X-ray images of the position of the needle in the spine on a monitor for the surgeon to view. A contrast material is then injected through the properly placed hollow needle to confirm that the drug flows to the affected nerve when injected. When the doctor is satisfied with the position of the needle, the anaesthetic drug and corticosteroid are injected through the same needle inserted in the spine. You may feel some pressure during the injection but mostly the procedure is not painful. The needle is removed and the injection site is covered with a dry, sterile bandage. The procedure takes about 3-5 minutes to complete.