Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy (PELD) / 한양의대학술지

ABSTRACT

The percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) is already being applied to treat almost all types of lumbar disc herniations, ranging from soft contained disc herniation, to migrated disc herniation, and eventually to foraminal and extraforaminal disc herniations. Its concept has already shifted from an indirect central decompression to a direct epidural targeted fragmentectomy with its clinical outcomes comparable to those of conventional open surgery. However, despite the good surgical outcomes reported for this endoscopic procedure for various lumbar spinal pathologies, its procedure still appears to be somewhat complicated for most spine surgeons. This phenomenon might be attributable to the fact that, apart from the technical aspect of the procedure, the surgeons are not familiar with the proper selection of patients. In this article, we have dealt with the basic principle and technique for various surgical conditions. Although these descriptions are totally based on our experiences and therefore have not been statistically analyzed.