Transforaminal Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy Through a Transfacet Approach: Detailed Surgical Technique

Abstract

The percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) is a minimally invasive surgical approach described for the treatment of herniated lumbar disks. We aim to offer a brief anatomical review followed by a detailed and illustrated description of the transforaminal PELD technique using the Tom SHIDI endoscope and instrument set (MaxMoreSpine, Unterföhring, Germany).The transforaminal PELD through a transforaminal approach using Tom SHIDI allows safe surgical treatment of most lumbar hernias thanks to the posterior entrance into Kambin's Triangle through a bony landmark allowing foraminoplasty to be performed using a manual drill. Careful surgical technique minimizes unforeseen complications and makes this a safe and viable alternative to conventional microdiscectomy.

Keywords

• lumbar disk herniation
• percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy
• spine surgery