Micro-endoscopic discectomy versus percutaneous endoscopic surgery for lumbar disk herniation

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to compare the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) versus micro-endoscopic discectomy (MED) in the treatment of patients with lumbar disk herniation. METHODS: In total, 216 patients treated for lumbar disk herniation in our center from January 2016 to July 2017 were prospectively divided into two groups according to the treatment received. One group was treated with PELD and the other group was treated with MED. The surgical duration, intraoperative blood loss, total hospital stay, visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, and Oswestry disability index (ODI) score before and after the surgery were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The surgical duration was significantly longer in the PELD than MED group. The intraoperative blood loss volume was significantly larger in the MED than PELD group. The total hospital stay was significantly longer in the MED than PELD group. The decline in the VAS pain score and increase in the ODI score after surgery were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although PELD is associated with a longer surgical duration than MED, it should still be considered superior to MED because of less intraoperative hemorrhage and a significantly shorter hospitalization time.