Early follow-up of microscopy-assisted percutaneous nucleotomy technique for the treatment of lumbar disk prolapse in Egyptian patients

Study design This is a prospective study on the efficacy of a microscopy-assisted less-invasive approach for the operative treatment of lumbar disk prolapse. Summary of background data Less invasive techniques such as percutaneous endoscopy and microscopy-assisted procedures play an important role in disk surgery. The main advantages of these techniques are minimal surgical trauma, early rehabilitation, shorter hospital stay, and better cosmetic outcome. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of this minimally invasive approach as an alternative for the operative treatment of lumbar disk prolapse. Patients and methods Twenty consecutive patients with a mean age of 31.25 years were operated upon using this technique. The study included 20 lumbar segments. The mean follow-up period was 17.1 months. The visual analogue scale for back and leg pain and the Oswestry Disability Index were used to assess the patients preoperatively and postoperatively. Results The average operative time for one-level decompression was 61 min, and the average blood loss was 50 ml/patient. Two patients (10%) underwent revision procedures by means of open surgery. Visual analogue scale for leg pain showed statistically significant improvement from 7.85 preoperatively to 1.1 postoperatively. The Oswestry Disability Index improved from 33.6 (preoperatively) to 17.3 (postoperatively). Conclusion This percutaneous technique is effective in treating lumbar disk prolapse. It carries the advantage of early mobilization and rehabilitation with shorter hospital stay.