Curative Effect of Lateral Transforaminal Endoscopy on the Treatment of Thoracic Disc Herniation

The importance of lateral transforaminal endoscopic treatment of thoracic disc herniation lies in the fact that the use of a needle can remove some of the disc contents and cause the disc herniation to disappear. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of percutaneous endoscopy on the treatment of patients with thoracic disc herniation.

To investigate the clinical efficacy and feasibility of transforaminal endoscopic discectomy in the treatment of thoracic disc herniation

This retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with thoracic hernias between January 2014 and December 2019. A total of 13 operative cases were selected via census sampling. Lateral endoscopic treatment of thoracic disc herniation was performed on patients, and they were followed up for 6-18 months. All patients were assessed by the visual analog scale Visual Analogue Score (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) before the surgery, as well as one week, three months, and six months after the operation, respectively.

The sample included 13 patients with a mean age of 60.3 years. The location of the thoracic disc herniation varied among the patients. The VAS scores before the surgery, as well as one week, three months, and six months after the surgery, were 7±0.8, 3.3±0.6, 2.3±0.8, 1.4±0.3, and 1.3±0.4, respectively, pointing to a significant decrease (P≤0.001). The ODI scores before the surgery, one day after surgery, one week after surgery, three months after surgery, and six months after surgery were 65.2±5.8%, 11.5±5.3%, 8.9±3.3%, 5.3±2.5, and 4.7±3.5, demonstrating a significant decrease (P≤0.001). The score of the Macnab standard, a rating system evaluating the effectiveness of spine surgeries, was also satisfactory.

As evidenced by the results of this study, percutaneous endoscopy in the treatment of patients with thoracic disc herniation was able to improve the clinical condition of patients and replace the previous methods of thoracic hernia surgery as an effective, efficient, and safe method.