“Temple of Doom” star required back surgery after filming iconic movie

Harrison Ford is a pop culture icon spanning several generations. Ford, known for his role as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy, and subsequent follow-ups to the classic story. He’s also known for his work as the title character in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones saga.

If you think it looks tough to do what Indiana Jones does in the movies, Harrison Ford would probably agree with you. He tore his ACL in 1981 while filming “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” A few years later, he ruptured two discs in his spine while filming “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” He told Empire, he suffered the injury riding elephants while shooting scenes in Sri Lanka. Eventually he had to return to the U.S. to have surgery.

Film executives delayed filming. A Stunt Actor stood in for Ford during a lot of the action scenes.

The Back Surgery

Harrison Ford went through a Discectomy surgery. It’s a procedure where the parts of the herniated, or ruptured disc, is removed. The discs in the spine are meant to act as shock absorbers. They are built a little like jelly doughnuts. The outside is harder, with a jelly-like inside. When too much pressure is put on the disc, the jelly-like inside can squirt out and put pressure on the nerve roots surrounding that part of the spine.

Procedures treating herniated discs have come a long way since the 1980’s. Dr. Samer Shamieh and Dr. Jeremy James are fellowship trained in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeries. A Discectomy today, with AVALA Spine can usually be done as an outpatient procedure with a small incision covered with only a band-aid! 

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