Clinical application of enhanced recovery after surgery in lumbar disk herniation patients undergoing dynamic stabilization and discectomy.

BACKGROUND Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has been demonstrated to improve early postoperative outcomes and is becoming a crucial component of any perioperative management paradigm. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of an ERAS protocol on lumbar disk herniation (LDH) patients undergoing dynamic stabilization and discectomy. METHODS A total of 119 lumbar disk herniation (LDH) patients undergoing Dynesys dynamic stabilization and discectomy were divided into the ERAS (n1 = 56) and control group (n2 = 63). ERAS group received an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol, and control group received a traditional care protocol. RESULTS Both the ERAS and control groups had significantly decreased visual analog scale (VAS) score and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and increased Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score at postoperative 1 week, 1 month and 3 months compared with preoperative scores. Moreover, the ERAS group had lower postoperative VAS score and ODI and higher postoperative JOA score and rate of improved JOA score compared with the control group. Intraoperative blood loss, operation time, ambulation time and length of stay were all lower in the ERAS group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS The ERAS protocol designed was feasible for LDH patients undergoing dynamic stabilization and discectomy with significantly improved perioperative outcomes.