Far lateral lumbar intervertebral disk herniation (FLLIDH) most commonly occurs far lateral to the intervertebral facet at L3-L4 and L4-L5 and accounts for 3.8% of all lumbar disk herniations. Traditional surgery for FLLIDH involves massive surgical trauma, damage to the spinal structure, and instability of the lumbar spine. The goals of this study were to perform a systematic review of the lit...

BACKGROUND Transforaminal epidural steroid injections are known to reduce inflammation by inhibiting synthesis of various proinflammatory mediators and have been used increasingly. The anti-inflammatory properties of opioids are not as fully understood but apparently involve antagonism sensory neuron excitability and pro-inflammatory neuropeptide release. To date, no studies have addressed the ...

Today, minimally invasive surgical approach in spinal surgery is increasingly becoming popular. Microdiscectomy has been gold standard since 1990. However, in certain centers endoscopic discectomy techniques started to be used. 13,14,21,22 Today, in East Asia, 30% of the discs are operated endoscopically. And this gives us the signals that the surgical method will change in the future. Transfor...

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective study. PURPOSE To compare the neurological outcome of transforaminal debridement and interbody fusion with transpedicular decompression for treatment of thoracic and lumbar spinal tuberculosis. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Few articles have addressed the impact of neurological recovery in patients with tuberculosis who were treated by two different operative methods via...

STUDY DESIGN Prospective study. PURPOSE We compared the effects of two methods of epidural steroid injection in patients with recurrent disc herniation. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE To our knowledge, there is no previous report of such a comparison in these patients. METHODS The study was performed with 30 patients with relapsed lumbar disc herniation whose pain was not relieved by conservative...

BACKGROUND Transforaminal endoscopic discectomy and foraminotomy is a well-described minimally invasive technique for surgically treating lumbar radiculopathy caused by a herniated disc and foraminal narrowing. OBJECTIVE To describe the technique and feasibility of transforaminal foraminoplasty for the treatment of lumbar radiculopathy in patients who have already undergone instrumented spina...

BACKGROUND Transforaminal technique for epidural steroid injections, unlike other approaches, is uniquely associated with permanent, bilateral, lower extremity paralysis. OBJECTIVE To review the literature and analyze the reported cases of paralysis from lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections to possibly establish a cause and to prevent this complication. STUDY DESIGN Eighteen ca...

Spondylolisthesis in adults is characterized by the loss of disc height across the affected segment with sagital translation. The goal of stabilizing the spine is accomplished by fusion. Transforaminal approach for lumbar interbody fusion is a very good approach and reduces the complications associated with traditional posterior approach. It has been reported to be safe and effective in the tre...

Ongoing technological development combined with better understanding of endoscopic anatomy has made posterolateral endoscopic discectomy an appealing surgical option for the management of herniated lumbar disc. We evaluated clinical outcomes, complication rates, and surgical learning curve with the percutaneous posterolateral transforaminal endoscopic discectomy technique (PPTED). PPTED was per...