Aloha April,
I am not a doctor….
but I play one on TV…just kidding, but seriously, from what I’ve read, and it can get really technical, for the general diagnosis of displacement of disc material, the single term that is most commonly used and creates the least confusion is “herniated disc”. Different doctors may use a number of different terms, which describe the same diagnosis. Herniated disc, ruptured disc, bulging disc, protruding disc, you get the idea. Herniated disc material can be contained or uncontained (you don’t want to see uncontained on your chart), bulging, by definition, is not a herniation. Herniation is present if there is localized displacement of disc material. This is where it gets confusing, why doctors will tell you that you have a herniated disc, when you actually have a bulging or protruding disc I’ll never understand. Anyway, I believe that when your doctor put in your chart “Lumbar Disc Displacement” this was just a technical way of documenting a “herniated disc”. I hope you are doing OK, and I hope this helps. Good Luck.
Carl
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3level laminectomy,discectomy&PLIF L3-S1 02/20/04
6cages 8screws 2rods (oh my!) w/local bone graft
Success! Yay!
