BACKGROUND: Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) and micro-endoscopic discectomy (MED) are alternative minimally invasive, widely performed procedures for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). This study compared the clinical outcomes of these 2 surgical techniques in treating LDH.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Google Scholar to identify all relevant studies comparing PTED and MED in treating LDH.

RESULTS: Eight comparative studies assessing a total of 805 patients were included for the final analysis. The results indicated that PTED needs a shorter incision [–1.02 (–1.21 to –0.83), p<0.001], less time in bed [–2.14 (–3.34 to –0.94), p<0.001], and shorter hospital stay [–1.92 (–2.90 to –0.94), p<0.001], whereas MED is superior regarding intraoperative fluoroscopy [7.47 (2.78 to 12.17), p=0.002] and total cost [0.69 (0.38 to 1.00), p<0.001]. No significant differences were found on operation time, intraoperative blood loss, or complications. Significant lower back pain was found in the PTED group at 1 week postoperatively [–0.52 (–0.95 to –0.10), p=0.02] and 1 year postoperatively or the last follow-up [–0.41 (–0.76 to –0.06), p=0.02]; significant lower leg pain was also detected at 1 week postoperatively [–0.52 (–0.75 to –0.30), p<0.001]. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was significant better at 1 week postoperatively in the PTED group [–4.41 (–7.03 to –1.79), p=0.001]. No significant differences were detected at other time points regarding pain score and ODI.

CONCLUSIONS: Both PTED and MED are safe and effective techniques for treating LDH. However, taking all clinical outcomes together, PTED might be a preferable treatment modality for LDH.

Keywords: Diskectomy, Percutaneous, Lumbosacral Region, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Diskectomy, intervertebral disc degeneration, Intervertebral Disc Displacement, Low Back Pain, Lumbar Vertebrae, operative time, Pain Measurement, Postoperative Period