Trends in Operative and Conservative Treatments for Lumbar Disc Herniation and Radiculopathy

IntroductionLumbar disc herniation is one of the major factors leading to lumbar radiculopathy. Both operative and nonoperative treatments have been shown to be effective in treating patients with lumbar herniated disc and radiculopathy. Even though both approaches can provide a rapid improvement, there are potential adverse events and rising costs associated with both, surgical and nonsurgical procedures. The aim of our study was to better understand the procedural trends, cost, and re-operative incidence in patients with lumbar herniated discs and radiculopathy.Patients and MethodsPatients with lumbar herniated disc and radiculopathy from 2007 to 2010 were identified in the United healthcare database using ICD-9 and CPT codes. Treatment procedure were recorded and classified in the following three groups: surgical group, including discectomy, microdiscectomy, and endoscopic direct visualization discectomy procedures; minimally invasive group, including endoscopic assistance indirect visualization discec...