Unilateral biportal endoscopic technique for lumbar disc herniation and lumbar spinal stenosis / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To develop a unilateral biportal endoscopic technique and investigate the clinical efficacy of unilateral biportal endoscopic technique in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation and lumbar spinal stenosis.Methods:Between July 2018 and June 2019, 60 patients with lumbar disc herniation or spinal stenosis were treated by unilateral biportal endoscopic technique. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 51 patients were included in the study. There were 25 cases of prolapsed lumbar disc herniation, 26 cases of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis, all of which were treated with posterior lumbar decompression by unilateral biportal endoscopic laminectomy, and contralateral stealth decompression by unilateral approach was performed on the patients with bilateral stenosis. Endoscopic interbody fusion and percutaneous pedicle screw fixation were performed in 5 patients with instability. Operation time, length of incision, hospital stay and complications were recorded. Visual analogue scale (VAS) for low back pain and leg pain, Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI) and the modified Macnab scale were used to evaluate the clinical efficacy.Results:All operations were completed successfully, and no cases were transferred to open surgery. The operative time was 70.29±19.55 min (44-151 min), while the length of incision was 1.79±0.34 cm (1.4-3.0 cm). Postoperative CT suggested complete decompression with intact contralateral structure. All patients got out of bed 1-3 d after surgery, and the postoperative hospital stay was 3.49±2.76 d (1-14 d). The postoperative follow-up time was 13.59±2.80 months (10-21 months). Forty-six patients returned to work or normal activities within 3 weeks and 5 patients with interbody fusion returned to normal activities within 4 weeks. According to the modified Macnab criteria, the final outcome was excellent in 43 cases, good in 6 cases, and fair in 2 cases. There were 3 cases of dural sac tear during operation and 2 cases of transient numbness of lower limbs after surgery and they all recovered after conservative treatment. The VAS score of low back pain of 26 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis was reduced from 6.69±1.44 before surgery to 3.27±1.43 at postoperative 1 month, 2.69±1.57 at postoperative 3 months, 2.31±1.16 at postoperative 6 months and 2.23±1.28 at the last follow-up, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( F=128.534, P<0.005). The VAS scoreof leg pain was reduced from 6.77±1.34 before surgery to 3.27±1.37 at postoperative 1 month, 2.88±1.48 at postoperative 3 months, 2.85±1.52 at postoperative 6 months and 2.54±1.53 at the last follow-up, and the difference was statistically significant ( F=146.951, P<0.005). The ODI score was reduced from 64.18%±8.23% before surgery to 37.53%±4.45% at postoperative 1 month, 27.51%±3.83% at postoperative 3 months, 19.91%±5.27% at postoperative 6 months and 6.84%±2.74% at the last follow-up, and the difference was statistically significant ( F=783.966, P<0.005). The VAS score of low back pain of 25 patients with lumbar disc herniation was reduced from 5.60±1.38 before surgery to 3.04±1.54 at postoperative 1 month, 2.84±1.75 at postoperative 3 months, 3.12±1.86 at postoperative 6 months and 3.44±1.69 at the last follow-up, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( F=22.357, P<0.005). The VAS scoreof leg pain was reduced from 5.48±1.45 before surgery to 2.88±1.64 at postoperative 1 month, 2.52±1.83 at postoperative 3 months, 2.76±1.83 at postoperative 6 months and 3.00±1.92 at the last follow-up, and the difference was statistically significant ( F=29.445, P<0.005). The ODI score was reduced from 53.59%±6.87% before surgery to 32.46%±3.78% at postoperative 1 month, 23.39%±2.78% at postoperative 3 months, 16.49%±3.49% at postoperative 6 months and 7.23%±3.15% at the last follow-up, and the difference was statistically significant ( F=790.985, P<0.005). Conclusion:Unilateral biportal endoscopic technique has the advantages of clear and wide field of vision, large operating space, relatively simple surgical instrument need and convenient and flexible operation procedure. It has excellent clinical effects in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation and lumbar spinal stenosis.