Post Operative Leg Pain Relief after Microdiscectomy through Fenestration in Patients Having Sciatica Due to Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Prolapse

Objective: To measure the post operative leg pain relief after Microdiscectomy through fenestration in patients having sciatica due to lumbar intervertebral disc prolapse.Place and Duration of Study: This descriptive case series study was done at Department of Neurosurgery, Nishtar Hospital, Multan from 05-05-2012 to 04-11-2014.Materials and Methods: One hundred patients undergoing Microdiscectomy through fenestration for prolapsed unilateral, single level, lumbar intervertebral disc, meeting inclusion criteria, were selected. Informed consent was taken from the patients. Leg pain was assessed using “visual analogue scale (VAS)” before surgery. Postoperative leg pain was assessed using VAS on 7th postoperative day.Results: Out of total 100 patients 77 (77%) were male and 23 (23%) were female. Mean age was 30.90 ± 7.22 years, the age distribution was from 15 to 45 years. The mean decrease in VAS leg pain score was 4.13 points (from mean pre-operative 7.79 to mean postoperative 3.66 at 7th post-operative day), 97% patients had reported a decrease in VAS score of 2 or greater than 2 points post-operatively. Leg pain relieved in 97 (97%) patients.Conclusion: Good pain relief was observed in our study after Microdiscectomy through fenestration in patients having sciatica. The procedure is safe, effective and reliable in pain management in patients having sciatica due to lumbar intervertebral disc prolapsed