Posterior percutaneous full endoscopic cervical discectomy for cervical intervertebral disc herniation

Abstract:

Objective：To evaluate the safety，feasibility and short-term efficacy of posterior percutaneous endoscopic cervical discectomy in the treatment of cervical intervertebral disc herniation． Methods：From August 2011 to October 2012，23 patients were treated with posterior percutaneous endoscopic cervical discectomy，3 cases at C4/5 level，15 cases at C5/6 level，6 cases at C6/7 level，22 cases of single level and one case of double levels. Corresponding symptom was segmental radicular pain cased by nerve root compression. All patients were in the prone position under general anesthesia. With percutaneous endoscope（diameter of 6.3 mm），a small amount of the inner part of the upper and lower facet and part of the lamina at the corresponding segments were removed by burr. The working path was shown as ‘key hole’ sample，then the herniated disc nucleus pulposus was got rid of and nerve root was released. The visual analog scale（VAS） scores of peroperation，1 d，1week，1 month，3 months，6 months，1 year postoperatively and modified MacNab criteria at the last follow-up were recorded. Results：All operations were successful in 23 cases and all patients were followed up. VAS scores at each time point were 7.35±1.05，2.87±0.84，1.85±0.42，1.72±0.64，1.40±0.75，0.75±1.58，0.77±1.08，respectively. VAS scores at each time point were significantly reduced after the operationthan than before the peroperation，with statistical significances（P<0.05）. Modified MacNab showed there were 15 excellent cases，7 good cases and 1 fine case. Conclusions：Posterior percutaneous endoscopic cervical discectomy is safe and effective in the treatment of cervical intervertebral disc herniation and should be widely applied.