Efficacy of Transforaminal Endoscopic Spine System (TESSYS) Technique in Treating Lumbar Disc Herniation

BACKGROUND: To compare efficacy and safety of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic spine system (TESSYS) and traditional fenestration discectomy (FD) in treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). MATERIAL/METHODS: A total of 106 LDH patients were divided into TESSYS group (n=48) and FD group (n=58). Visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA), and modified MacNab criteria were used for efficacy evaluation. Post-operative responses were compared by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on detection of serum IL-6, CRP, and CPK levels. RESULTS: In the TESSYS group, compared with the FD group, we observed, shorter incision length, less blood loss, shorter hospital stay, lower hospitalization cost, shorter recovery time, lower complication rate (all P<0.001), and lower VAS scores of lumbago and skelalgia at 3 days and 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively (all P<0.05). At 24 and 48 h postoperatively, CRP level was remarkably higher in the FD group compared to the TESSYS group (P<0.001). Further, comparison of IL-6 levels at 6, 12, 24, and 48 h postoperatively revealed significantly higher levels in the FD group than in the FESSYS group (all P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: TESSYS had clinical advantages over FD and entails less trauma and quicker postoperative recovery, suggesting that TESSYS is well tolerated by patients and is a better approach than FD in surgical treatment of LDH.