Unilateral Bi/Multi-Portal Endoscopy for the Treatment of Complicated Lumbar Degenerative Diseases with Utilization of Uniaxial Spinal Endoscope, Instead of Arthroscope: Technique Note and Clinical Results

Clin Interv Aging. 2023 Aug 9:18:1295-1308. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S417462. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Objective: This article aims to discuss a novel surgical strategy, referred to as unilateral bi/multi-portal endoscopy (UME), which used a uniaxial spinal endoscope instead of an arthroscope in the traditional unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) surgical procedure in our study of the treatment of complicated lumbar degenerative diseases.

Methods: This retrospective study included 42 patients diagnosed with high-migrated lumbar disc herniation and bilateral spinal stenosis who underwent UME surgery from January 2021 to December 2021. Patients included 20 men and 22 women, with an average age of 55.97±14.92 years. The average follow-up period was 13.19 months. The demographic data, operation time (min), and complications were recorded and analyzed. The visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores were used to evaluate the surgical outcomes. Three-dimensional CT scans and MRI were conducted to evaluate the radiographic improvement.

Results: A total of 26 patients were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation and 16 with lumbar spinal stenosis. All 42 patients underwent UME surgery and achieved satisfactory outcomes. The operation time was 154.46±46.09 min. The average follow-up time was 13.19±1.33 months. The preoperative back pain (VAS-Back) and the last follow-up VAS-Back were 3.84±1.00 and 0.70±0.46, respectively (P < 0.05). The preoperative leg pain (VAS-Leg) and the last follow-up VAS-Leg were 6.46±1.08 and 1.03±0.64, respectively (P <0.05). Significant differences existed between preoperative ODI scores (58.70±11.22%) and the last follow-up ODI scores (9.24±3.04%; P<0.05). All patients achieved significant pain relief and functional improvement after the surgery. No severe complications occurred, except for two cases of postoperative dysesthesia and one case suffered from vertebral compression fractures induced by a postoperative accidental injury. Symptoms of numbness disappeared within one week with treatment using dexamethasone and neurotrophic drugs. The vertebral fracture case recovered with percutaneous kyphoplasty treatment.

Conclusion: This study suggests that UME is a promising treatment strategy for high-migrated disc herniation and bilateral spinal stenosis.

Keywords: bilateral spinal stenosis; high-migrated disc herniation; ligamentum flavum; lumbar degenerative diseases; spinal endoscope; unilateral bi/multi-portal endoscopy.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Endoscopes
  • Endoscopy / methods
  • Female
  • Fractures, Compression*
  • Humans
  • Intervertebral Disc Displacement* / complications
  • Intervertebral Disc Displacement* / diagnostic imaging
  • Intervertebral Disc Displacement* / surgery
  • Lumbar Vertebrae / diagnostic imaging
  • Lumbar Vertebrae / surgery
  • Male
  • Pain
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Spinal Fractures*
  • Spinal Stenosis* / complications
  • Spinal Stenosis* / surgery
  • Treatment Outcome

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Liaoning Natural Science Foundation (No.2020-MS-04); The Guiding Plan of Scientific Research Foundation of Liaoning Province (No. 2019-ZD-0761); National Key R&D program of China (No.2019YFC0121400). The funders had no role in the organization of the research, in the decision to publish the research data, in the writing of the article content, or interpretation of results, analysis or data collection.