Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Objectives To determine the incidence of index level fusion following open or minimally invasive lumbar microdiscectomy. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of 174 patients with a symptomatic single-level lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus who underwent microdiscectomy via a mini-open approach (MIS; 39) or through a minimally invasive dilator ...

Microdiscectomy is considered a very safe procedure with few serious complications. Ureteric injury following microdiscectomy is rarely reported in the literature. We report a rare case of iatrogenic ureteric injury following L5-S1 microdiscectomy for prolapsed intervertebral disc which was detected early and managed in time.

OBJECTIVE To determine the long-term follow-up of the various operations for lumbar disc herniation in a large patient population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Patients who had operations for lumbar disc herniation (microdiscectomy, endoscopic microdiscectomy and the 'classical operation', i.e. laminectomy/laminotomy with discectomy) were collected from the world literature. Patients who had follow-u...

see whether we could carry out disc operations as day cases, something which no-one previously had even contemplated, let alone carried out. We in Frenchay had introduced the operation of microdiscectomy in 1979, and this rapidly replaced the older way of doing disc operations without a microscope. The impulse for day case surgery came from our experiences with operating on doctors. The 4 cm in...

Before the advent of minimally invasive surgery for microdiscectomy, an open microdiscectomy had been the standard surgical intervention. Minimally invasive techniques have recently become more popular based upon the premise that smaller, less traumatic incisions should afford better recovery times and outcomes. From 2005 to 2008 we analyzed the outcomes of 25 patients who received an open micr...

OBJECTIVE This article aimed to analyze the neurosurgical results of 500 patients treated with microdiscectomies and 500 patients treated with percutaneous laser disc decompression. BACKGROUND DATA It has been suggested in the literature that percutaneous laser disc decompression might be considered a serious and valid alternative to microdiscectomy in the treatment of patients with discogeni...

STUDY DESIGN  Retrospective review. INTRODUCTION  Lumbar radiculopathy and claudicant leg pain are common degenerative spinal conditions often treated by elective microdiscectomy or decompression. Published outcome data for these procedures have focused on improvement in pain scores, and not on grounded functional outcome or depression scores.1,2,3 Moreover, depression is considered by many s...

BACKGROUND Outpatient surgery saves the risk of nosocomial complications and health care dollars. Patients undergoing lumbar microsurgical discectomy are excellent candidates for outpatient surgery. The object of this study was to examine the feasibility of performing lumbar microdiscectomy on an outpatient protocol and to examine the potential savings associated with such a protocol. METHODS...

BACKGROUND Lumbar microdiscectomy and laminectomy are two of the most common neurosurgical procedures performed worldwide. Current practice still sees pre-operative group and save testing prior to this surgery. The aim of this study was to determine the need for pre-operative group and save and post-operative blood checks. METHODS Patient archives were reviewed to identify those undergoing pr...