Clinical Efficacy Evaluation of Full-endoscopic Foraminoplasty and Discectomy Under General Anesthesia in the Treatment of L5-S1 Disc Herniation
Abstract Background: Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) is a minimally invasive surgical method for the treatment of spinal diseases. However, the operation procedure relied on the radiative interventional technology, and was conducted under local anesthesia. Method: From June 2016 to December 2019, we performed a newly developed full-endoscopic visualized foraminoplasty and discectomy under general anesthesia in 30 patients with L5/S1 LDH. In this retrospective study, the outcomes and neurological complications of this approach were evaluated. Results: The mean visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were significantly improved after surgery. The postoperative MRI reexamination revealed that the degree of intervertebral disc degeneration of each subject was improved significantly to different degrees as compared with that before surgery. The learning curve showed operative time rapidly decreased over the earlier cases, and then tapered to a steady state in the latter cases. Conclusions: Full-endoscopic foraminoplasty and discectomy under general anesthesia is efficient and safe for the treatment of the L5-S1 disc herniation.Trial registration: N/A