ArticleBrain & spine2026
External bipolar thermal annuloplasty as an adjunct to lumbar microdiscectomy for Carragee Type I and III annular defects: A matched cohort study.
Article in Brain & spine, 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
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Lumbar microdiscectomy is an established treatment for symptomatic lumbar disc herniation; however, persistent pain and functional limitation may occur, particularly in patients with annular defects. Research question: Is adjunctive external bipolar thermal annuloplasty (EBTA) associated with improved outcomes after lumbar microdiscectomy in patients with Carragee Type I and III annular defects? Material and methods: This retrospective single-center matched cohort study included 60 patients with symptomatic single-level lumbar disc herniation and intraoperatively confirmed Carragee Type I or III annular defects. Thirty patients underwent microdiscectomy with adjunctive EBTA and were matched 1:1 with 30 patients treated with microdiscectomy alone based on age, sex, operated level, Carragee classification, baseline VAS-leg, VAS-back, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores. Outcomes were assessed preoperatively and at 6 and 12 months. Exploratory clinical relevance was assessed using MCID thresholds of ≥4.7 points for VAS-leg and >20 points for ODI. Results: Both groups improved significantly in VAS-leg, VAS-back, and ODI scores (p < 0.001). Compared with controls, the EBTA group had significantly lower VAS-leg, VAS-back, and ODI scores at both follow-ups. VAS-back decreased from 5.84 ± 1.17 to 1.20 ± 0.49 at 12 months in the EBTA group and from 5.96 ± 1.08 to 2.06 ± 0.72 in controls. EBTA was also associated with earlier return to work and higher satisfaction, without increased complications. Mean ODI improvement exceeded the MCID threshold in both groups, whereas VAS-leg exceeded the threshold at both follow-ups only in the EBTA group. Discussion and conclusion: Adjunctive EBTA was associated with greater improvements in leg pain, back pain, and disability without increased perioperative morbidity. These exploratory findings require confirmation in larger prospective studies.
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.