ReviewCureus2019
The Disability Cascade: A Preventable Consequence of the Loss of Disc Height following Lumbar Microdiscectomy.
Review in Cureus, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Correlation between Pain Scores and Disc Height Changes after Discectomy in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Computational intelligence and neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Spontaneous resorption of disc herniations in adjacent segment after endoscopic spine surgery: Cohort study.Neurosurgical review · 2026Article
- A novel allograft combined with modified purse-string suture fixation for annulus fibrosus repair: biomechanical evaluation in a porcine lumbar disc model.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Endoscopic Interlaminar Standalone Decompression for Lumbar Lateral Recess Stenosis With Subligamentous Disc Herniation: A Disc-Preserving Alternative to Discectomy.Orthopaedic surgery · 2025Article
- Annulus Fibrosus Repair via Interpenetration of a Non-Woven Scaffold Supports Tissue Integration and Prevents Re-Herniation.JOR spine · 2025Article
- Chemonucleolysis for Lumbar Disc Herniation: History and Current State of the Technology.Journal of pain research · 2025Review
- Article
- Correlation between Disc Imaging Observations and Clinical Efficacy after Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy: A 1-Year Follow-up Study.Orthopaedic surgery · 2024Article
- Effect of a strutted intradiscal spacer (DIVA®) on disc reherniation following lumbar discectomy: A 2-year retrospective matched cohort study.Journal of orthopaedicsArticle
- A Novel Fabrication of Dose-Dependent Injectable Curcumin Biocomposite Hydrogel System Anesthetic Delivery Method for Care and Management of Musculoskeletal Pain.Dose-response : a publication of International Hormesis SocietyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Lumbar discectomy is a mainstay surgical treatment for herniation of the lumbar discs and is effective at treating radicular symptomology. Despite the overall success of the procedure; the potential for reherniation and reoperation is significant. To avoid this potential recurrence, surgeons often perform discectomy more aggressively, removing a larger volume of nuclear material in the hopes of minimizing the likelihood of reherniation. This approach, while beneficial in minimizing the chance of reherniation, is associated with a volumetric reduction of the nucleus within the disc space, making the disc more prone to collapse and thus inducing a significant post-operative loss of disc height. While potentially minor in isolation, the loss of disc height, in fact, impacts several aspects of overall patient well-being. We hypothesize that the loss of disc height following discectomy causes an increase in pain and subsequent disability, the combination of which ultimately impacts socioeconomic factors affecting both the patient and the healthcare system as a whole. In this report, we outline the evidence in support of this disability cascade and provide recommendations on methods for limiting its impact. Given the current focus on cost-effectiveness in healthcare decision-making, methods for limiting this potentially damaging sequence of events must be investigated.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.