ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2026
Comparative analysis of ipsilateral versus contralateral inclinatory approaches in unilateral biportal endoscopic lumbar discectomy and strategies to reduce recurrence.
Article in 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, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeUnilateral biportal endoscopic (UBE) lumbar discectomy is an effective minimally invasive technique for lumbar disc herniation (LDH). However, no study has compared the outcomes between ipsilateral and contralateral inclinatory approaches. This study evaluated these approaches and described strategies to reduce recurrence.
methodsData from 93 patients who underwent UBE lumbar discectomy at a single institution were retrospectively reviewed (ipsilateral: 70 levels, contralateral inclinatory: 39 levels). Clinical outcomes included back and leg visual analog scale (VAS) scores and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Radiological outcomes were assessed using lumbar lordosis, segmental angle, disc height on X-ray and facet length, superior articular process (SAP) cross-sectional area, surgical approach angle on computed tomography (CT). Correlations between surgical approach angle and facet resection rates were analyzed.
resultsBoth approaches showed significant improvement in back and leg VAS scores and ODI and had no significant differences between segmental angle and disc height changes. Lumbar lordosis increased significantly in both groups. Facet length resection rate was 9.73% and 11.07% in the ipsilateral and contralateral inclinatory groups, respectively. Large surgical approach angle correlated with increased SAP cross-sectional area resection but not with facet joint resection.
conclusionsIpsilateral and contralateral inclinatory UBE lumbar discectomy yielded comparable clinical and radiological outcomes. Approach choice can be based on surgeon's preference and patient's anatomy. To minimize the risk of recurrence, we highlight the importance of adequate foraminotomy and removal of loose fragments within bulging annulus.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41240080What 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.