Abstract
Background:: Transforaminal lumbar endoscopic discectomy (TLED) is a minimally invasive procedure for removing lumbar disc herniations. This technique was initially reserved for herniations in the foraminal or extraforaminal region. This study concentrated on our experience regarding the outcomes and efficacy of TLED. Materials and Methods:: A total of 105 patients were included in the study. The patients were retrospectively evaluated for demographic features, lesion levels, numbers of affected levels, visual analog scores (VASs), Oswestry disability questionnaire scale scores and MacNab pain relief scores. Results:: A total of 48 female and 57 male patients aged between 25 and 64 years (mean: 41.8 years) underwent TLED procedures. The majority (83%) of the cases were operated on at the levels of L4-5 and L5-S1. Five patients had herniations at two levels. There were significant decreases between the preoperative VAS scores collected postoperatively at 6 months (2.3) and those collected after 1-year (2.5). Two patients were referred for microdiscectomy after TLED due to unsatisfactory pain relief on the 1st postoperative day. The overall success rate with respect to pain relief was 90.4% (95/105). Seven patients with previous histories of open discectomy at the same level reported fair pain relief after TLED. Conclusions:: Transforaminal lumbar endoscopic discectomy is a safe and effective alternative to microdiscectomy that is associated with minor tissue trauma. Herniations that involved single levels and foraminal/extraforaminal localizations were associated with better responses to TLED.
Copyright
Association for Helping Neurosurgical Sick People. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Derivative-Non Commercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit.
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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License, which permits unrestricted reproduction and distribution, for non-commercial purposes only; and use and reproduction, but not distribution, of adapted material for non-commercial purposes only, provided the original work is properly cited.
