Transtubular versus microsurgical approach for single lumbar disc herniation: a prospective study

Earlier studies have compared transtubular discectomy with microsurgical discectomy in the treatment of lumbar disc herniations, but a few prospective studies with homogeneous groups of patients have been conducted. The aim of this study was to compare intraoperative and immediate postoperative results in a group of patients submitted to discectomy with the use of a tubular retractor (TTD) to the one operated with standard microdiscectomy as described by Caspar (MSD). A total of 83 patients were prospectively observed and reviewed. Two homogeneous groups of patients were compared. All patients were preoperatively examined by the operating surgeon and the anaesthesiologist. All surgical data and constatations were collected on the operative summary. Several parameters like operative time, morphinic consumption in recovery room, length of hospital stay and peri- and post-operative complications were compared. Results show that both procedures lead to excellent recovery and that TTD is a viable alternative to MSD. There was no statistically significant difference in most of the examined parameters between the two techniques.