Biportal endoscopic technique in the treatment of spinal stenosis: early clinical experiences and results

Minimally invasive procedures in spine surgery have undergone significant development in recent times. A demand emerged from both surgeons and patients to develop and perform these types of surgeries in order to prevent biomechanical and surgical complications. Our study aimed to present early clinical results of a biportal endoscopy technique in the treatment of degenerative spinal stenosis.

We created a retrospective database of patients who underwent biportal spinal endoscopic decompression at the National Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurosurgery, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, in 2019. The surgical steps of technique is discussed in details.

Retrospectively, we identified and collected 21 patients in our retrospective analysis. The early results after endoscopic decompression were excellent, 17 patients (81%) mentioned good general comfort which coincided with small incisions and the preservation of posterior spinal muscles. Three patients (14%) mentioned good condition and minor postoperative pain which could be controlled with analgesics. One patients (5%) mentioned postoperative discomfort. The patients were controlled at 3, 6 and 9 months. The mean follow-up time was 7 months.

Biportal endoscopic technique was developed to fulfil the requirements of minimally invasive techniques. Our results indicate this method may be highly effective for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis and an alternative to conventional microsurgical decompression; however, our study limited by its retrospective manner and small population size.