[Percutaneous laser diskectomy in cervical osteochondrosis]

The paper presents early and late outcomes of treatment in 62 patients undergone paracentetic laser "diskectomy" for discogenic compressed syndromes of the neck. It shows the efficiency of surgery for radicular (92.9%) and myelopathic (92.8%) syndromes. Patients were selected for these interventions on the basis of clinical and neurological examinations, spondylography, MRI, and electric neuromyography. The main stages of an operation were as follows: local anesthesia, right-sided anterolateral access, X-ray guidance of the position of a needle, one-stage removal of herniated disks during multi-levelled injury during an intervention. The operation lasted 18 +/- 2.4 minutes. The mean hospital stay was 12 +/- 1.4 hours. The interventions were performed in 16 of 62 cases in the outpatient setting.