[Chemonucleolysis. Its effectiveness in the treatment of lumbar diskopathies caused by compressive or rotational...

One hundred patients who meet McCulloch's indicators for treatment of lumbar disc herniation by chemonucleolysis were entered in this study. Chemonucleolysis in the patients suffering from sciatica secondary to a compression injury, especially with clinical and radiographic evidence of nerve root compression at a single level, can be expected to attain good to excellent results. Chemonucleolysis is far less efficacious in patients suffering from either torsional injury or multiple level abnormality, especially in the absence of neurological deficit. Meticulous attention to patient selection will yield optimal results. The result was excellent or very good in 60% of patients, while in 40% the procedure failed. The rate of success at the L.5/S.1 level was 70%, at the L.4/5 level it was 63% and 37% were successful when multiple levels were treated.