Study on the effect of percutaneous intervertebral foraminoscopic discectomy in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation

This study explored the effect of percutaneous intervertebral foraminoscopic discectomy (PIFD) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). This retrospective study collected a total of 88 patient cases for inclusion. Epidemiological and clinical data of patients with LDH at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University between May 2017 and January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Of those, 44 patients received PIFD and were allocated to an intervention group. The other 44 patients administrated fenestration discectomy (FD), and were assigned to a control group. We compared surgery time (minute), incision length (cm), duration of hospital stay after surgery (day), pain intensity (as checked by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), health-related quality of life (as examined by Oswestry Disability Index, ODI), and complications between 2 groups. There were not significant differences in surgery time (minute) (P = .56), VAS (P = .33) and ODI (P = .46) after surgery between 2 groups. However, there were significant differences in incision size (cm) (P < .01) and length of hospital stay (day) (P < .01) after surgery between 2 groups. When compared before the surgery, patients in both groups had significant improvements in VAS (P < .01) and ODI (P < .01) after the surgery. Moreover, both groups had similar safety profiles (P > .05). The findings of this study showed that both PIFD and FD benefit patients with LDH. However, PIFD can benefit patients more than FD in the incision size and duration of hospital stay after surgery.