AUTHOR=Li Ran , Zhou Hongyou , Han Hao , Fu Dongming , Zhan Zihao , Meng Bin 

TITLE=Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy as a treatment for lumbar disc herniation linked with posterior ring apophysis separation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Surgery

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/surgery/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2022.1072444

DOI=10.3389/fsurg.2022.1072444

ISSN=2296-875X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) linked with posterior ring apophysis separation (PRAS) is a rare and distinct subset of disc herniation. Few studies have evaluated the clinical efficacy of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD), which is a procedure used to treat LDH linked with PRAS.</p></sec><sec><title>Objectives</title><p>To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of PELD in the treatment of LDH linked with PRAS.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Patients who met inclusion criteria (<italic>n</italic> = 67; 40 males and 27 females) underwent PELD. General and operation-related information and perioperative complications of the patients were recorded. Clinical efficacy was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) during the follow-up period.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The mean operation time was 118.04 ± 19.31 min and the mean blood loss was 22.84 ± 15.89 ml. The VAS and ODI scores continued to improve immediately after the surgery to the last follow-up. Four patients experienced postoperative complications i.e., herniation recurrences. The conditions of the patients with the complications improved after treatment.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>PELD has reliable efficacy and safety in the treatment of LDH linked with PRAS.</p></sec>