Lumbar disk prolapse treated with chymopapain

: We report results from 108 consecutive patients followed up for one year after chymopapain injection. The patients were selected on strict clinical and radiological criteria. In nine patients (8%) the result was poor, and they were surgically treated within one year after the injection. 99 (92%) patients improved and after one year 87 of these (81% of the total material) had returned full time to their previous occupation. The only serious complication was one case of septicemia and possible discitis. The patient made a full recovery after antibiotic treatment. On the basis of these results, we shall continue to use chymopapain injection to treat selected patients with sciatica caused by herniated lumbar discs.