Open Discectomy vs. Microdiscectomy: Results from 519 Patients Operated for Lumbar Disc Herniation

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of patients with lumbar disk hernia operated between 2012 January and 2017 August and to compare the differences between open discectomy (OD) and microdiscectomy (MD).Materials and Methods: Files of 519 patients who presented at our neurosurgical department with lumbar disk herniation were retrospectively reviewed and recorded. Preoperatively, all patients routinely underwent spinal lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and anteroposterior as well as lateral lumbar vertebrae X-rays. During the early postoperative period, there was no need for imaging. Surgical interventions were performed using the two currently accepted OD and MD methods.Results: We reviewed 519 patients with lumbar disk herniation who were operated in our clinic between 2012 and 2017. The mean age of 276 patients who underwent OD was 44.85±9.92 y, and that of the re- maining 243 patients who underwent MD was 47.69±12.87 y. There was no difference in the demographic distributions of patients; levels of lumbar disk herniations; postoperative clinical outcomes; and long-term reoperation rates due to root injury, wound infection, dural tear, or the recurrence of lumbar disk hernia- tion (p>0.05). The duration of operation was significantly shorter for OD (37.82±7.15 vs. 49.07±6.88 min; t=−18.184, p