Surgical outcome for thoracic disc surgery in the postlaminectomy era

In this article the author reviews outcomes of thoracic disc surgery reported in the literature. Care was taken to include only series in which none or a few patients underwent laminectomy for the treatment of thoracic disc lesions. The author found that thoracic discectomy may be performed in an efficacious and safe manner via the transthoracic, lateral extracavitary, transpedicular, or endoscopic approach. In the vast majority of patients, preoperative symptoms of pain (radiculopathy or axial loading pain) and myelopathy were improved after surgery. Measurements of operative time, blood loss, length of hospital stay, and patient satisfaction were often inadequately reported. Complications (systemic and neurological) were well documented and were not common. A plea is made for uniformity in documenting outcome in future series so that today's procedures for thoracic discectomy may be more accurately compared with future cases regardless of the inevitable advances in surgical techniques for removal of thoracic discs.