Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic removal of a foreign body of the lumbar spine

Abstract

A clinical example of surgical treatment of a patient with long-term consequences of a gunshot blind non-penetrating wound of the lumbar spine received 15 years ago is presented. The indication for performing surgical intervention was the development of recurrent retroperitoneal phlegmon in the last year and a half against the background of the presence of a foreign body (bullet) in the interbody gap L1–L2. In the “cold” period of the inflammatory process, the least invasive operation was performed. The article describes the course of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic removal of a foreign body, and demonstrates the possibilities of such access. The above clinical observation indicates that the method of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic surgery may not be limited in its indications only to degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the spine.