Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2020
Open fenestration discectomy versus microscopic fenestration discectomy for lumbar disc herniation: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04112485 (Open Discectomy Versus Microscope Assisted Discectomy for Treatment of Symptomatic Lumbar Disc Herniation), which is not on this map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 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.
Open Discectomy Versus Microscope Assisted Discectomy for Treatment of Symptomatic Lumbar Disc Herniation: a Comparative Study
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of different treatments for lumbar disc herniation: a network meta-analysis and systematic review.BMC surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Enhanced Recovery Rehabilitation Surgery Concepts on the Surgical Process, Postoperative Pain, Complications, and Prognosis of Discectomy in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Computational and mathematical methods in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of Duration of Symptoms on the Clinical and Functional Outcomes of Lumbar Microdiscectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Orthopaedic surgery · 2022Trial
- Efficacy and safety of unilateral biportal endoscopy versus Percutaneous endoscopic foraminal discectomy in the treatment of 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 · 2026Review
- Minimally invasive vs. microscopic discectomy for adolescent lumbar disc herniation: a comparative study of clinical and spinopelvic outcomes.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Antioxidant biomaterials in intervertebral disc regeneration: current status and future clinical translation.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Review
- Clinical outcomes of unilateral biportal endoscopic discectomy vs. microdiscectomy in lumbar disc herniation.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Establishment of a rabbit model for microscopically assisted posterior lumbar fenestration.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Article
- Is a Microscope Necessary in Cervical Discectomy to Reduce Neurological Injury?: A Prospective Randomized Control Trial.Korean journal of neurotrauma · 2025Article
- Comparison of perioperative blood loss of three different posterior nonfusion decompression operations for single-segment lumbar disc herniation.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Large-Channel Interlaminar Endoscopic Discectomy for Highly Migrated Lumbar Disc Herniation: Effectiveness and Safety.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Comparative study of the efficacy and safety of minimally invasive interlaminar full-endoscopic discectomy versus conventional microscopic discectomy in single-level lumbar herniated intervertebral disc (ENDO-F Trial): a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial protocol.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2022Article
- Article
- Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy is a safer approach for lumbar disc herniation.American journal of translational research · 2022Article
- Study on the effect of percutaneous intervertebral foraminoscopic discectomy in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.Medicine · 2021Observational
- Endoscopic and Microscopic Interlaminar Discectomy for the Treatment of Far-Migrated Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Retrospective Study with a 24-Month Follow-Up.Journal of pain research · 2021Article
- PubMed-indexed neurosurgical research productivity of Iraq-based neurosurgeons.Surgical neurology international · 2021Review
- Comparison of Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy with Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion as a Revision Surgery for Recurrent Lumbar Disc Herniation after Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFenestration discectomy, for symptomatic lumbar disc herniation, is the most common surgical procedure in spine surgery. It can be done by open or microscopic procedures. This study compared the results of fenestration microdiscectomy with open fenestration discectomy in the treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation as a relation to the functional outcome, leg pain, back pain, hospital stay, returns to daily activity, cost, recurrence, reoperation and type of surgery for recurrent disc herniation.
methods60 patients age (29 - 50 years), with L4-L5 disc herniation, are divided randomly into group A- 30 patients underwent an open fenestration discectomy- and group B- 30 patients underwent fenestration microdiscectomy. All patients are assessed at 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months after surgery for Oswestry disability index and Visual analogue scale for back pain and leg pain and followed up for 4 years.
resultsIn both groups, all patients have minimal disability by Oswestry Disability Index after surgery. There were significant differences between means of post-operative Visual Analogue Scale for back pain between these two groups after 1 week (3.7 in group A versus 2.2 in group B) (t = 13.28, P = < 0.001*) and after 3 months (1.73 in group A versus 0.43 in group B) (t = 10.54, P = < 0.001*). There were no significant differences between two groups regarding post-operative VAS for leg pain, recurrence (5 patients in group A versus 4 patients in group B) and reoperation rate (2 patients in each group). There were significant differences between means of length of hospital stay (2.10 in group A versus 1.06 in group B) (P < 0.001), time of returning to daily activities (7.33 in group A versus 4.03 in group B) (P < 0.001) and cost of surgery (1996.66 in group A versus 3003.3 in group B) (P < 0.001).
conclusionUse of microscope in fenestration discectomy for treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation can achieve the same goals of open fenestration regarding nerve root decompression and relief of leg pain with advantage of less back pain, less hospital staying and early return to daily activities with disadvantage of more cost with the use of microscope. With 4 years follow up, there was no significant deference in rate of recurrence and reoperation with the use of microscope but we found that type of surgery for recurrent cases may be less invasive if microscope was used in primary surgery.
trial registrationNCT, NCT04112485. Registered 30 September 2019 - Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/NCT04112485.
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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.