Repeat Surgery after Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy for Adolescent Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Multicenter...

Area of Science:

• Spine Surgery
• Minimally Invasive Procedures
• Adolescent Orthopedics

Background:

• Adolescent lumbar disc herniation (ALDH) treated with percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) can require repeat surgery.
• Data on repeat surgical interventions for ALDH post-PELD is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report on repeat surgeries following PELD for ALDH.
• To assess the incidence, causes, methods, and outcomes of these repeat procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective multicenter observational study (January 2014 - August 2022).
• Inclusion of 23 patients undergoing repeat surgery after PELD for ALDH.
• Evaluation of outcomes using Numeric Rating Scales (NRS) and modified MacNab criteria.

Main Results:

• Re-herniation (at the same or adjacent levels) was the primary cause for repeat surgery.
• Revision PELD, micro-endoscopic discectomy (MED), open discectomy, and fusion were employed.
• Significant improvement in NRS scores and an 86.95% overall success rate (78.26% excellent outcomes) were observed.

Conclusions:

• Repeat surgery for ALDH after PELD leads to significant patient improvement.
• Re-herniation is the main indication for repeat intervention.
• Revision PELD is an effective surgical option for repeat procedures in this population.