Minimally Invasive Discectomy: Transforaminal Approach

Abstract

Disc prolapse resulting in back and leg pain is a common and often disabling condition. Treatment includes open microdiscectomy, which is a highly effective therapy in the short term for properly selected patients. Open microdiscectomy carries risk, however, requires a convalescent period, and demonstrates a diminishing effect over time relative to observation. For these reasons, there has been increasing interest in minimally invasive techniques such as endoscopic discectomy, which attempts to achieve results similar to those of open microdiscectomy while reducing risk and the recovery period. The most widely accepted endoscopic discectomy techniques utilize a transforaminal approach to access the target area. This chapter discusses two specific approaches to transforaminal endoscopic discectomy commonly referred to as “inside-out” and “outside-in”.