[Clinical efficacy analysis of optical-electromagnetic navigation-assisted percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic...

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of integrated optical-electromagnetic navigation-guided (Ng) transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy (TELD) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from patients who underwent TELD for LDH at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, between January 2024 and May 2025. A total of 78 patients were included. Patients who underwent TELD using Ng were assigned to the Ng-TELD group (n=37), while those who underwent TELD using the conventional X-ray fluoroscopy method were assigned to the control group (n=41). The operative time, cannulation time, decompression time, number of intraoperative fluoroscopies, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for leg and back pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) score, Macnab criteria, and incidence of adverse events during follow-up were recorded and compared between the two groups. Results: Among the 78 patients, the age was (60.4±16.6) years, with 46 males (59.0%) and 32 females (41.0%). At 3 months postoperatively, significant improvements were observed compared to preoperative values for leg pain VAS [(0.7±0.7) vs (6.2±1.0)], back pain VAS [(0.9±0.6) vs (4.2±1.8)], ODI [(8.4±3.1)% vs (58.5±8.2)%], and EQ-VAS score [(84.0±10.2) vs (53.3±12.0)] (all P<0.05). The Ng-TELD group demonstrated significantly shorter total operative time [(66.3±11.7) vs (81.6±15.6) min], shorter puncture and cannulation time [(5.9±1.2) vs (15.2±4.1) min], shorter endoscopic decompression time [(55.4±11.6) vs (66.3±13.9) min], and fewer intraoperative fluoroscopies [(3.2±1.5) vs (15.7±5.3) times] compared to the control group (all P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of efficacy evaluation metrics, MacNab criteria outcomes, or the incidence of adverse events (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Ng-TELD for the treatment of LDH is safe, accurate, and effective.