[Clinical application of percutaneous laser disc decompression in the treatment of cervical disc herniation]

To evaluate the clinical effect of percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) in the treatment of cervical disc herniation.

From March 2003 to December 2005, 47 patients with cervical disc herniation (96 cervical disc) were treated with PLDD. There were 25 males and 22 females with an average age of 56 years, ranging from 37 to 72 years. The lesion were located at the levels of C3,4 in 20 discs, C4,5 in 27 discs, C5,6 in 31 discs, C6,7 in 18 discs. The laser fiber was introduced into the center of the herniated disc space by percutaneous puncture from anterior neck surface under fluoroscopic guidance. Laser reduced the intra-disc pressure through the vaporization of disc nucleu. The adopted laser was semi-conducted with a wavelength of 810 nm. Each laser output power was 15 W with 1 s emission and 2 s interval. The total laser output power was decided depending on the degenerative degree of the disc and the reactive process of heat, ranging from 300 to 1 000 J.

Of 47 patients, 42 were followed up for 3 to 31 months (mean 13 months). The clinical evaluation was classified as excellent in 18 cases (42.9%), good in 14 cases (33.3%), fair in 6 cases (14.3%) and poor in 4 cases (9.5%). The general response rate was 90.5%. The excellent and good rate was 76.2%. No complications occurred.

PLDD can relieve the symptoms and signs of patients suffering from cervical disc herniation with less complication. The manipulation of PLDD is easy, safe and mini-invasive.