A Novel Combination of Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy and Epiduroscopic Laser Neural Decompression for...

Although percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) is an effective treatment for herniated discs, its application in a disc with extensive migration is still challenging. As such, epiduroscopic laser neural decompression (ELND) provides a new view of the epidural space as well as an alternative treatment for a herniated disc and epidural fibrosis. In this paper the authors introduce the novel combination of PELD and ELND for high grade down-migrated disc herniation.An 87-year old woman presented with severe pain radiating down her leg due to high grade down-migrated disc herniation at L4-5. The therapeutic plan was organized into 3 steps. First, the patient underwent PELD to remove the paracentral extruded disc and open the epidural space between the traversing nerve root and disc space. Second, ELND was performed to remove the down-migrated disc and simultaneously push the free fragment to the L4-5 disc space. Lastly, repetitive free fragments were picked up and streamed upward using ELND. The patient reported significant reduction of pain after surgery. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed complete removal of the ruptured disc fragment. A combination of PELD and ELND may be an option of treatments for down-migrated disc herniation.