Endoscopic Rhizotomy is a treatment for painful facet joint arthritis of the lumbar area of the spine. Nerves in the facet joints transmit the sensation of pain from the facet to the brain. During minimally-invasive endoscopic rhizotomy, a small probe is inserted into the patient’s back and the nerves that supply the facet joints are cut or destroyed under direct endoscopic visualization. Laser ablation can be used when appropriate.

Successful pain relief is achieved in 80-90% of patients and typically lasts from 2-5 years. This is a much more effective way to treat pain from facet arthritis than more commonly used fluoroscopically guided radio-frequency techniques.