Objective: This report describes a minimally invasive lumbar foraminotomy technique that can be applied in patients who underwent complex spine decompression procedures or in patients with severe foraminal stenosis.
Methods: Awake, endoscopic decompression surgery was performed in 538 patients over a 5-year period between 2014 and 2019. Transforaminal endoscopic foraminal decompression surgery using a high-speed endoscopic drill was performed in 34 patients who had previously undergone fusions at the treated level.
Results: At 2-year follow-up, the mean (± SD) preoperative visual analog scale score for leg pain and the Oswestry Disability Index improved from 7.1 (± 1.5) and 40.1% (± 12.1%) to 2.1 (± 1.9) and 13.6% (± 11.1%).
Conclusions: A minimally invasive, awake procedure is presented for the treatment of severe lumbar foraminal stenosis in patients with lumbar radiculopathy after lumbar fusion.
Keywords: endoscopic spine surgery; foraminal stenosis; lumbar; minimally invasive spine; pseudarthrosis; radiculopathy; surgical technique; transforaminal.