Trial reportInterventional neuroradiology : journal of peritherapeutic neuroradiology, surgical procedures and related neurosciences2017
Percutaneous laser disc decompression versus conventional microdiscectomy for patients with sciatica: Two-year results of a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in Interventional neuroradiology : journal of peritherapeutic neuroradiology, surgical procedures and related neurosciences, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Eight Surgical Interventions for Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Network Meta-Analysis on Complications.Frontiers in surgery · 2021Pooled it
- Complication rates of different discectomy techniques for symptomatic lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2020Pooled it
- Complication rates of different discectomy techniques for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation: a network meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2019Pooled it
- Complication rates of different discectomy techniques for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation: a network meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2019Pooled it
- Percutaneous laser disc decompression versus microdiscectomy for sciatica: Cost utility analysis alongside a randomized controlled trial.Interventional neuroradiology : journal of peritherapeutic neuroradiology, surgical procedures and related neurosciences · 2017Trial
- Interventional radiology management of disc herniation: a narrative review.La Radiologia medica · 2026Review
- Outcomes of Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression for Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Spine surgery and related research · 2026Review
- The Clinical, Functional, and Radiological Outcomes of Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression in Disc-Related Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Laser disc decompression in the management of lumbar disc herniation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain & spine · 2026Article
- A Report of Lumbar Disk Herniation Treatment Outcomes: Percutaneous Laser Disk Decompression vs Open Microdiscectomy.Basic and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Pain Relief, Disability, and Hospital Costs After Intradiscal Ozone Treatment or Microdiscectomy for Lumbar Disc Herniation: A 24-Month Real-World Prospective Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Comparative Efficacy of Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression (PLDD) and Conservative Therapy for Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Retrospective, Observational, Single-Center Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Clinical efficacy of transforaminal endoscopic discectomy in the treatment of recurrent lumbar disc herniation: a single-center retrospective analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- The American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline of Interventional Treatments for Low Back Pain.Journal of pain research · 2022Review
- Role of Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation on Pain Relief: A Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study:.Galen medical journal · 2022Article
- Chinese Association for the Study of Pain: Expert consensus on diagnosis and treatment for lumbar disc herniation.World journal of clinical cases · 2021Review
- Outcomes with transforaminal endoscopic versus percutaneous laser decompression for contained lumbar herniated disc: a survival analysis of treatment benefit.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2020Article
- Letter to the editor regarding 'Percutaneous laser disc decompression versus conventional microdiscectomy for patients with sciatica: Two-year results of a randomised controlled trial'.Interventional neuroradiology : journal of peritherapeutic neuroradiology, surgical procedures and related neurosciences · 2018Article
- [Operative treatment of degenerative diseases of the lumbar spine].Der Nervenarzt · 2018Review
- Comparison of percutaneous intradiscal ozone injection with laser disc decompression in discogenic low back pain.Journal of pain research · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background Percutaneous laser disc decompression is a minimally invasive treatment, for lumbar disc herniation and might serve as an alternative to surgical management of sciatica. In a randomised trial with two-year follow-up we assessed the clinical effectiveness of percutaneous laser disc decompression compared to conventional surgery. Materials and methods This multicentre randomised prospective trial with a non-inferiority design, was carried out according to an intent-to-treat protocol with full institutional review board approval. One hundred and fifteen eligible surgical candidates, with sciatica from a disc herniation smaller than one-third of the spinal canal, were randomly allocated to percutaneous laser disc decompression ( n = 55) or conventional surgery ( n = 57). The main outcome measures for this trial were the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire for sciatica, visual analogue scores for back and leg pain and the patient's report of perceived recovery. Results The primary outcome measures showed no significant difference or clinically relevant difference between the two groups at two-year follow-up. The re-operation rate was 21% in the surgery group, which is relatively high, and with an even higher 52% in the percutaneous laser disc decompression group. Conclusion At two-year follow-up, a strategy of percutaneous laser disc decompression, followed by surgery if needed, resulted in non-inferior outcomes compared to a strategy of microdiscectomy. Although the rate of reoperation in the percutaneous laser disc decompression group was higher than expected, surgery could be avoided in 48% of those patients that were originally candidates for surgery. Percutaneous laser disc decompression, as a non-surgical method, could have a place in the treatment arsenal of sciatica caused by contained herniated discs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.