[Treatment of intervertebral disk sciatica by chemonucleolysis. Analysis of 56 cases]

The authors report 56 cases of sciatica treated by chemonucleolysis with follow-up ranging from six months to two years. All patients presented with manifest clinical symptomes of intervertebral disc herniation, and the diagnostic was verified by myelography. In all cases myelographic findings corresponded to clinical topography when the topography was precisely defined. This group of patients, therefore, was highly selected, and the authors attempted to eliminate excluded herniations when the myelographic anomaly appeared at a distance from the intervertebral space. Cases of sciatica caused by stenosis, paralytic sciatica, and pure lumbar pain were not treated in this study. At the end of the second month, 70 percent of patients obtained good results; the authors, believe, therefore, that failure of treatment can be ascertained by the eighth week. Thirteen of the fifteen treatment failures in this study were operated. Results of this surgery performed after chemonucleolysis were similar to results obtained from surgery performed as initial treatment. No serious complications were observed. Chemonucleolysis, therefore, appears to be an effective means of treatment for sciatica caused by intervertebral disc herniation. Based on their own experience and reports in the literature, the authors believe that chemonucleolysis is the ultimate stage of conservative treatment when classical measures have failed. In addition, the authors' experience and careful review of the literature has shown that serious iatrogenic accidents are exceptionally rare and can be avoided by the use of rigorous technique.