A comparison of non-endoscopic and endoscopic adhesiolysis of epidural fibrosis

Low back and leg pain may be due to many causes, one of which is scarring in the epidural space. Epidural scarring may provoke this pain for many reasons: nerves may be trapped by scars, while veins in the epidural space press down upon the nerves and become enlarged, putting pressure on the nerves. Endoscopic and percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis allows one to eliminate the deleterious effects of scar formation, which can both physically prevent the direct application of drugs to nerve and provide relief in patients who have not responded to epidurals, physical therapy or medication. A search of the MEDLINE and Embase databases was conducted for the period between 1970 and 2014 using the search terms "adhesiolysis", "lysis of adhesions", "epiduroscopy", "epidural neuroplasty", "epidural adhesions", "radiofrequency lysis adhesion" and "epidural scar tissue" in order to identify articles relevant for this review. The purpose of this review is to describe the effectiveness and complications present in a comparison of non-endoscopic, endoscopic and pulsed radiofrequency endoscopic procedures in lysis of adhesions in epidural fibrosis.