Ozone disc nucleolysis in cervical intervertebral disc herniation: A nonrandomized prospective analysis in 246 patients

BACKGROUND: Inherent complications associated with surgery and limited success of percutaneous minimally invasive procedures make researches wanting for an ideal treatment for cervical disc herniation. OBJECTIVE: We prospectively study the role of ozone disc nucleolysis in cervical intervertebral disc herniation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 2008 to December 2020, we prospectively study 246 consecutive patients of cervical disc herniation treated by a single session of intradiscal injection of ozone–oxygen mixture (ozone disc nucleolysis). There were 55% of females and 45% of males. Age ranged from 28 to 68 years with a mean of 47. The outcome was measured on visual analog scale (VAS) scale and neck disability index (NDI) along with Mcnab method. RESULTS: The mean baseline VAS score was 7.87 which became 3.09 at 1 month, 1.42 at 3 months, 1.40 at 6 months, and 1.35 at 1 year. The mean NDI was 36.27 at baseline which improved to 9.24 at 1 month, 6.25 at 3 months, 6.20 at 6 months, and 6.22 at 1 year. This was found to be significant with P < 0.05. Modified McNab criterion showed excellent recovery in 138 (56.10%), good recovery in 50 (20.32%), and fair recovery in 22 (8.94%), resulting in a successful rate of 85.36%. Mediocre recovery was seen in the remaining 36 patients amounting to a 14.64% failure rate. CONCLUSION: This study showed that ozone disc nucleolysis significantly reduces the pain related to cervical disc herniation along with a significant reduction in disability.