Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
-
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal discectomy (PETD), microendoscopic discectomy (MED), and microdiscectomy (MD) for treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation (LDH). METHODS One hundred ninety-two patients with symptomatic LDH at L3-4 and L4-5 were included in this study. The mean (± SD) age of patients was 34.2 ± 2.6 years (range 18-62 years). ⋯ Three cases (5.5%) in the PETD group had recurrent LDH, and 2 recurrent cases (3.4%) were confirmed in the MED group. CONCLUSIONS PETD, MED, and MD were all reliable techniques for the treatment of symptomatic LDH. With a restricted indication, PETD can result in rapid recovery and better clinical results after at least 2 years of follow-up.