Outcome of Transforaminal Endoscopic Discectomy in Rural India in a Single-Level Lumbar Disc Prolapse Under Local Anesthesia

Aim The aim of this study was to undertake a clinical study to evaluate the outcomes of transforaminal endoscopic discectomy under local anesthesia and to study the complication rate. Study Design It is a prospective study. Methods We prospectively analyzed outcomes of 60 patients with a single-level lumbar disc prolapse in rural India from December 2018 to April 2020 who underwent endoscopic discectomy under local anesthesia. Follow-up was done using the visual analogue score (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scoring systems with a minimum follow-up up to 1 year postoperatively. Results In our study of 60 patients, there was 38 cases of L4-L5 disc pathology, 13 L5–S1 discs, and 9 L3-L4 discs. Our study showed a significant clinical reduction in mean VAS score that was 7.07/10 preoperatively and reduced to 3.88/10 at the third month and 3.64/10 at 1 year of follow-up ( p -value < 0.05) showing clinical significance. The ODI scoring done preoperatively was an average mean of 57.37% pointing to how crippled the patients were with lumbar disc prolapse and showed a significant reduction to 29.32% postoperatively at 1 year ( p -value < 0.05) showing clinical significance. This reduction in ODI directly corelates to how almost all patients returned to normal life coping to all activities and were completely pain free at 1 year of follow-up. Conclusion Endoscopic spine surgery in lumbar disc prolapse is highly effective and can deliver a good functional outcome if done with correct preoperative planning and approach.