Percutaneous Discectomy: A Current Treatment for Lumbar Disc Herniation

Abstract

Objective: Describe the functional outcomes of patients with contained lumbar disc herniation (L4-L5, L5-S1) treated with manual percutaneous nucleotomy (MPN) and demonstrate that it remains a technique with good results. Methods: A prospective, longitudinal study with 110 patients contained with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) treated with (MPN). The evaluation was pre-surgical and 4, 30, 180 and 365 days after the surgery. We used Numeric Pain Scale (NPS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Macnab criteria. Descriptive and inferential statistics for differences. Results: N=110: 58 (52.72%) men, 52 (47.27%) women; average age 37.95 years (14-56) ± 10.60; most affected level: L4-L5 in 63 (57.14%) patients. NPS preoperative average: 7.75 (5-9) ± 1.12, and at 365 days: 2.14 (0-7) ± 2.37. The mean preoperative ODI was 37% (28%-40%) + 3.06, and at 365 days 9.52% (0%-40%) + 13.92. The prognosis (ODI) was good to 79 (71.81%) patients at 365 days, regular in 26 (23.63%) and poor in 5 (4.57%), corresponding respectively to patients with no, mild, moderate and severe disability. The Macnab criteria showed similar results (p = 0.00, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.13 - Student's t). Conclusions: The results were good at one-year follow-up (p = 0.00), demonstrating that the MPN is still a good option for lumbosciatic pain relief.