Posterior Percutaneous Endoscopic Cervical Discectomy for Single-Level Soft, Huge Central Disc Herniation

Posterior percutaneous endoscopic cervical discectomy (PPECD) has been proven safe and effective for foraminal cervical disc herniation (CDH). However, central CDH has long been considered as the contraindication of PPECD, because the path is obstructed by the spinal cord and nerve root.

To preliminarily assess the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of PPECD for single-level soft, huge central CDH.

A retrospective cohort study.

Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College).

Between 2017 and 2020, 31 patients diagnosed with single-level soft, huge central CDH were treated by PPECD. Primary outcomes included the measures of neck and radicular pain based on the numeric rating scale (NRS) and cervical neurologic status based on the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score. The global outcome was assessed using the Odom's criteria at one-year follow-up.

Compared to the baseline, there was a constant and significant reduction of NRS-rated pain and improvement of JOA-rated cervical neurologic status postoperatively (P < 0.01). According to the Odom's criteria, 96.8% (30/31) of patients had satisfactory postoperative clinical improvement (excellent or good outcomes) at one-year follow-up. Complications included C5 nerve root palsy and spinal cord injury. The total complication rate was 16.5% (2/31), but these complications were temporary and not catastrophic.

The limitations of this study include the volume of the sample, a short follow-up period, and the lack of a control group.

Our preliminary experience indicates that PPECD is a feasible and promising alternative for symptomatic single-level soft, huge central CDH.