TREATMENT OF LUMBAR HERNIAS BY ENDOSCOPIC NUCLEOPLASTY WITH RADIOFREQUENCY

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the postoperative outcomes of minimally invasive technique for treating lumbar disc herniation in patients undergoing percutaneous endoscopic nucleoplasty with radiofrequency in the center of minimally invasive procedures Veracruz (CEMIVER) of the HRAEV.. Methods: A descriptive, comparative, ambispective and longitudinal study. The clinical records of patients who underwent herniated disc surgery were reviewed from March 2010 to March 2015. Inclusion criteria were individuals of both sexes, aged 18-65 years, with disc herniation diagnosis by MRI, evocative discography (pain) and clinical evaluation. The variables were analyzed by VAS, Oswestry disability index for functional assessment and Macnab criteria for modified retrospective cross clinical classification. Results: 161 patients were included, 81 female and 80 male, aged between 18 and 65 years with severe (83.8%) and moderate (16.2%) disability according to the Oswestry disability index; the total of excellent results was 83.8%, 9.5% were good, 4.8% were median and 1.9% were poor results, according to the Macnab criteria; the average time of surgery was 84 minutes per procedure, and the postoperative average bleeding was 65 ml. Of the total, 87.4% of the patients were on an outpatient basis and 7.6% had a short hospital stay.. Conclusion: It was found that percutaneous endoscopic nucleoplasty with radiofrequency technique is a procedure that offers great benefits for patients with lumbar disc herniation, including performing it under local anesthesia, with clear visualization of the surgical field, minimal pain, little bleeding, shorter operative time, does not cause instability of anatomical structures and has minimal rate of complications.