Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 6, 2026
Transtubular Endoscopic Posterolateral Decompression for L5-S1 Lumbar Lateral Disc Herniation
Published on: October 14, 2022
3D-Navigation guided sublaminar contralateral unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) for migrated foraminal disc in the
Shailesh Hadgaonkar1, Parth K Shah1, Parag K Sancheti1
1Department of Spine Surgery and Neurosciences, Sancheti Institute for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Background:
Migrated lumbar foraminal disc herniation (FDH) poses a great challenge, requiring the facet joint resection and stabilization procedure. We used a contralateral sublaminar unilateral biportal endoscopic (UBE) approach utilizing O-arm navigation to preserve the facet and effectively resect a FDH.
Methods:
Through the sublaminar window, resecting the ligamentum flavum, performing a limited medial facetectomy using O-arm navigation, safely exposed the foraminal zone, allowing for the safe FDH resection.
Results:
Fourteen patients underwent this procedure between 2022 and 2023. Mean operative time was 75 min with minimal blood loss and no perioperative complications. Visual analog scale scores improved markedly: back pain decreased from 8.6 preoperatively to 0.8 at 12 months, and leg pain from 9.2 to 0.4. Radiological analysis showed an average 5.1% reduction in facet joint area without new instability or spondylolisthesis.
Conclusion:
Utilizing O-arm navigation, the contralateral sublaminar UBE approach enables safe, precise, and facet-preserving decompression for FDH.
