Background: Percutaneous endoscopic interlaminar discectomy (PEID), which poses advantages
for certain types of herniated disc, is gaining wider acceptance in clinical practice. We retrospectively
analyzed the efficacy of the PEID technique in treatment of calcified lumbar disc herniation.
Study Design: A retrospective case-control study.
Setting: University hospital in China.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of the PEID technique in treatment of calcified lumbar disc
herniation, and a comparison between calcified and noncalcified disc herniation was drawn to
analyze the causes of herniated disc calcification.
Methods: Data from patients who underwent full-endoscopic lumbar discectomy in our
department between March 2011 and May 2013 were collected. Thirty cases with calcified lumbar
disc herniation were included in the study group, and 30 age-, gender-, and body mass index
(BMI)-matched cases with noncalcified lumbar disc herniation served as controls. Perioperative
data, preoperative and postoperative Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores, Oswestry Disability Index
(ODI) values, MacNab scores, and postoperative low-extremity dysesthesia among patients in the
2 groups were collected.
Results: The values of computed tomography (CT) in the calcified group were significantly
higher than those in the noncalcified group (P < 0.01). The preoperative disease courses in the
2 groups were similar. However, there was a statistically significant difference in the duration of
traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) administration (P < 0.01). VAS and ODI scores improved
significantly after surgery, but there were no significant differences between the 2 groups (P >
0.05). Three months after surgery, the rate of low-extremity dysesthesia in the calcified group was
significantly higher than that in the control group (P = 0.03) but became similar at 6 months. By
applying MacNab criteria the proportions of good and excellent were greater than 90% in both
groups, and there was no difference between groups (P > 0.05).
Limitations: The sample size was small in this retrospective study.
Conclusion: The PEID technique is an effective method in the treatment of calcified lumber
disc herniation, although the rate of postoperative dysesthesia is higher in this group during the
early postoperative period. Long-term TCM administration may be related to the calcification of
herniated lumbar discs.
Key words: Lumbar disc herniation, percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy, interlaminar
approach, calcification
CHRNA5/CHRNA3 gene cluster is a risk factor for lumbar disc herniation: a case-control study
