Immediate and long-term results of percutaneous full-endoscopic and microsurgical lumbar discectomy: prospective cohort study

Objective. To analyze immediate and long-term results of percutaneous endoscopic and microsurgical discectomy. Material and Methods. A prospective cohort study in two groups of patients was conducted in 2015–2018. The observation period was 6–42 months. Group 1 included 110 patients who underwent percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy, and Group 2 – 331 patients who underwent microdiscectomy. Efficiency was assessed using NRS-11, ODI, SF-36, and MacNab questionnaires. Results. The operating time, bed day number, and disability period were shorter in Group 1 (p < 0.001). The average effective dose of radiation exposure to the patient was 4.4 mSv in transforaminal endoscopy, and 0.8 mSv in interlaminar and microsurgical discectomy. There were no significant intergroup differences in frequency and types of complications and reoperations. The portion of symptomatic hernia recurrence in Group 1 was 10 %, in Group 2 – 4.8 %. Significant differences in neurological outcomes and quality of life were not revealed. Good and excellent outcomes according to MacNab criteria were noted in 78.2 % and 84.9 %, in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Conclusion. The percutaneous endoscopic discectomy allows reducing hospital stay length and disability period, while having clinical ef- ficacy equal to that of other disectomy methods. A statistically insignificant increase in the risk of hernia recurrence after percutaneous endoscopic discectomy was noted