Comparison of Conventional Fenestration Discectomy Versus Percutaneous Transforaminal Endoscopic Discectomy for Treating Lumbar Disc Herniation

Abstract Purpose: To compare the efficacy of conventional interlaminar fenestration discectomy (IFD) versus percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) for treating lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods: The clinical data of 1,100 patients who had been diagnosed with LDH from January 2012 to December 2017 were retrospectively analysed. IFD was performed on the 605 patients in Group A, while PTED was performed on the 505 patients in Group B. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, and modified Macnab criteria were adopted to evaluate the outcomes. Moreover, the surgery durations, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative off-bed activities, and postoperative lengths of hospital stay for the two groups were observed. Results: The follow-up period ranged from 24 months to 60 months, with an average duration of 43 months. As the excellent and good outcome rate was 93.5% in Group A and 92.6% in Group B, there were no significant differences in efficacy between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, Group B had significantly less intraoperative blood loss and shorter bed rest durations and postoperative lengths of hospital stay than did Group A (P < 0.05). There were two cases of postoperative recurrence in Group A and three in Group B. Conclusions: Although conventional IFD and PTED had similar levels of efficacy in treating LDH, transforaminal endoscopic discectomy exhibited several advantages, such as less trauma, less bleeding, and a shorter length of hospital stay, and it can be considered an ideal surgical option for treating LDH.Save and Continue