BACKGROUND The usual surgical treatment of refractory sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation, is open discectomy. Minimally invasive procedures, including percutaneous therapies under local anesthesia, are increasingly gaining attention. One of these treatments is Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression (PLDD). This treatment can be carried out in an outpatient setting and swift recovery and r...

BACKGROUND The choice between transthoracic, lateral, and posterolateral approaches to excise thoracic disc herniations remains controversial. METHODS The outcome of the three approaches was compared in seven of the authors' cases and in 324 other cases reported in the literature. RESULTS Partial or total neurological recovery was found in 93% after a transthoracic procedure versus 87% afte...

Extreme-lateral lumbar disc herniations present a surgical challenge because the conventional posterior approach requires bone resection for complete visualization of the pathology. The authors have identified constant anatomical landmarks in cadaveric dissections that facilitate access to the intervertebral foramen when combined with a posterolateral approach, as described by Watkins, for lumb...

OBJECTIVE To analyze and describe appropriate surgical indications for endoscopically performed transforaminal decompression with the outside-in technique with foraminoplasty in patients with lateral stenosis with and without herniated disc. BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE Endoscopic microdiscectomy is growing in popularity for the removal of lumbar disc herniations. Recent advances in surgical t...

BACKGROUND Endoscopic discectomy is an ultra- minimally invasive outpatient surgical option for the treatment of lumbar herniated discs. The purpose of this study was to assess the benefit of tranforaminal versus interlaminar endoscopic discectomy in patients with single level Lumbar 5-Sacral 1(L5-S1) disc herniations and lumbar radiculopathy. METHODS After Institutional Review Board Approval...