Transforaminal endoscopic treatment of lumbar radiculopathy after instrumented lumbar spine fusion.

BACKGROUND Transforaminal endoscopic discectomy and foraminotomy is a well-described minimally invasive technique for surgically treating lumbar radiculopathy caused by a herniated disc and foraminal narrowing. OBJECTIVE To describe the technique and feasibility of transforaminal foraminoplasty for the treatment of lumbar radiculopathy in patients who have already undergone instrumented spinal fusion. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Hospital and ambulatory surgery center METHODS After Institutional Review Board approval, charts from 18 consecutive patients with lumbar radiculopathy and instrumented spinal fusions who underwent endoscopic procedures between 2008 and 2013 were reviewed. RESULTS The average pain relief one year postoperatively was reported to be 67.0%, good results as defined by MacNab. The average preoperative VAS score was 9.14, indicated in our questionnaire as severe and constant pain. The average one year postoperative VAS score was 3.00, indicated in our questionnaire as mild and intermittent pain. LIMITATIONS This is a retrospective study and only offers one year follow-up data for patients with instrumented fusions who have undergone endoscopic spine surgery. CONCLUSION Transforaminal endoscopic discectomy and foraminotomy could be used as a safe, yet, minimally invasive and innovative technique for the treatment of lumbar radiculopathy in the setting of previous instrumented lumbar fusion. IRB approval: Meridian Health: IRB Study # 201206071J