Percutaneous Lumbar Discectomy for Lumbar Disc Herniation

Percutaneous discectomy involves minimal invasion compared with the alternative conventional operation. We have now used this method for the surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation since 1991.We report our retrospective study of the clinical results from 40 patients who underwent percutaneous discectomy for lumbar disc herniation. Patients included 32 males and 8 females with a mean age of 26 years. The clinical result was excellent in 15 patients (38%), good in 16 (40%), and unchanged in 9 patients (23%). Of the 9 unchanged patients, 7 then underwent conventional discectomy, while the other 2 refused. Discoscopy has been useful for a subligamentous extruded disc herniation. Of the 8 most recent paticnts who underwent percutaneous discectomy using discoscopy, the result ws excellent in 7 patients, and unchanged in only one patient.We conclude that the indications for percutaneous discectomy for lumbar disc herniation can be widened by using discoscopy.