Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38435187›Full record

ArticleCureus2024

Minimally Invasive Far Lateral Lumbar Discectomy With Modified Technique: Symptomatic Relief and Intersegmental Stability Study.

Nicholas M Laskay, Matthew T Jarrell, Arsalaan Salehani, Travis Atchley, Matthew S Parr, James Mooney, Nicholas J Erickson, Sasha Howell, Mamerhi Okor, Daniel Harmon

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Nicholas M LaskayNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
Matthew T JarrellMedicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
Arsalaan SalehaniNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
Travis AtchleyNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
Matthew S ParrNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
James MooneyNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
Nicholas J EricksonNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
Sasha HowellNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
Mamerhi OkorNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
Daniel HarmonNeurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, USA.
University of Alabama at Birmingham · USNeurological Surgery · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the use of a modified minimally invasive surgery (MIS) technique for far lateral lumbar discectomy (FLDH) that minimizes the degree of bony drilling required for nerve root decompression, increasing postoperative pain reduction rate with reduced risk of iatrogenic spinal instability. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: FLDH accounts for approximately 10% of all lumbar disc herniations and is increasingly recognized in the era of advanced imaging techniques. These disc herniations typically result in extra-foraminal nerve root compression. Minimally invasive spine techniques are increasingly performed with various degrees of foraminal and facet removal to decompress the affected nerve root.

methodsThe study design involves a single institutional, retrospective cohort technical review. The review was completed of all patients undergoing MIS far lateral lumbar discectomy between 2010 and 2020. Cross-sectional, summary statistics were calculated for all variables. Counts and percentages were recorded for categorical variables and mean and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables.

resultsA total of 48 patients underwent MIS far lateral lumbar discectomies (FLLD) from 2010 to 2020. The mean age was 63 ± 11.5 years (60.4% males), the mean BMI was 28.5 ± 5.5, and 20.8% smokers. The most common presenting complaint was both low back and radicular pain (79.2%) with 8.3% of patients suffering from motor weakness preoperatively. The mean follow-up time was 4.3 ± 2.7. The mean length of stay was 1.3 ± 1.4 days with 77.1% of patients discharged postoperative day one. Forty-three patients (93.5%) had improvement in their symptoms. Twenty-seven (58.7%) had complete resolution in 2.6 months on average. Six patients (13%) had immediate symptom resolution postoperatively.

conclusionsOur modified technique for FLLD allows MIS access to the extra-foraminal site of nerve root compression without the need for bony drilling. This minimizes postoperative pain and reduces the risk of iatrogenic spinal instability without sacrificing symptom resolution.

Indexed as

extra-foraminal disc herniationfar lateral disc herniationlumbar discectomyminimally invasive spine surgerysurgery spine

Identifiers

PMID38435187
PMCPMC10908426
OpenAlexW4391425040

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.