Indication and Contraindication of Endoscopic Transforaminal Lumbar Decompression

The indications and contraindications to the endoscopic transforaminal approach for lumbar spinal stenosis are not well defined.

We performed a Kaplan-Meier durability survival analysis of patients with the following types of spinal stenosis: type I, central canal; type II, lateral recess; type III, foraminal; and type IV, extraforaminal. The 304 patients comprised 140 men and 164 women, with an average age of 51.68 ± 15.78 years. The average follow-up was 45.3 years (range, 18-90 years). The primary clinical outcome measures were the Oswestry Disability Index, visual analog scale, and the modified Macnab criteria.

Of 304 study patients, 70 had type I (23.0%) stenosis, 42 type II (13.7%), 151 type III (49.7%), and 41 type IV (13.5%). Excellent outcomes were obtained in 114 patients (37.5%), good in 152 (50.0%), fair in 33 (10.9%), and poor in 5 (1.6%). Kaplan-Meier durability analysis of the clinical treatment benefit with the endoscopic transforaminal decompression surgery showed statistically significance differences (P < 0.0001) on log-rank (Mantel-Cox) χ² testing between the estimated median (50% percentile) survival times of type I (28 months), type II (53 months), type III (32 months), and type IV (66 months).

We recommend stratifying patients based on the underlying compressive disease and the skill level of the endoscopic spine surgeon to decide preoperatively whether more difficult central or complex foraminal stenotic lesions should be considered for alternative endoscopic approaches.