Endoscopic transforaminal lumbar discectomy in the treatment of multilevel disc herniations
Abstract Background There were no studies in literature of multiple level lumbar disc herniation treatment by endoscopic procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic treatment multiple level lumbar disc herniation by compare to the one level disc herniation. Methods A total of 267 patients of lumbar disc herniation who had endoscopic surgery were categorized into three different groups depending on the level number of endoscopic procedures. 78 cases had one level procedure (OL group), 54 cases had couple level procedures (CL group), and 35 cases had triple level procedures (TL group). Endoscopic discectomy procedures was performed and the clinical outcomes were recorded. Results There was no intraoperative death in this series. The hospital day were no significant difference among three groups. The operational time and blood loss were biggest in triple levels procedures and lest in one level procedure. When take into the influence the numbers of disc herniation, there were no significant difference per level among three groups. The pain index and ODI score were better than preoperational in all patients, and there were no significant difference among three groups. The disk and foramen height, and lumbar lordosis were no significant difference compare to preoperative in all patients, and there were no significant difference among three groups. All patients achieved pain free accomplished all surgery procedures, no infection, and no dural tear of cerebrospinal fluid leakage complication. Conclusions Endoscopic lumbar discectomy was effective and safe procedures in the treatment of multilevel lumbar disc herniation.