Transforaminal full-endoscopic lumbar discectomy under local anesthesia in awake and aware conditions: the inside-out and outside-in techniques

Abstract

Purpose of the review: Transforaminal full-endoscopic lumbar discectomy (TELD) under local anesthesia was first introduced in Japan in 2003. Initially referred to as percutaneous endoscopic discectomy, in 2018, a consensus was reached worldwide and the preferred term is now TELD. The procedure requires only an 8-mm skin incision and causes minimal damage to the paravertebral muscles. Thus, it is the least invasive disc surgery. In this review, we introduce two types of the TELD surgery.

Recent findings: Initially, TELD was performed as the "inside-out" technique but was associated with reports of postoperative dysesthesia due to exiting nerve injury. Recently, the "outside-in" technique after foraminoplasty was proposed for safer insertion of the cannula into the disc. Foraminoplasty can widen the narrow foramen, thereby allowing the 8-mm cannula to pass through easily and safely, and thus injury to the exiting nerve root can be theoretically avoided. We described two types of the TELD in this review. Surgeons should be familiar with the inside-out and outside-in techniques for TELD; therefore, we can select appropriate technique for each case.

Keywords: Foraminoplasty; Herniated nucleus pulposus; Inside-out; Outside-in; Transforaminal full-endoscopic lumbar discectomy.

Full citation: Yoshinari H, Tezuka F, Yamashita K, Manabe H, Hayashi F, Ishihama Y, Sugiura K, Takata Y, Sakai T, Maeda T, Sairyo K. Transforaminal full-endoscopic lumbar discectomy under local anesthesia in awake and aware conditions: the inside-out and outside-in techniques. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2019 Jun 24;12(3):311-317. doi: 10.1007/s12178-019-09565-3. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 31236834; PMCID: PMC6684726.