Clinical outcomes and satisfaction in patients after lumbar microdiscectomy

Abstract

Introduction: Lumbar disc herniation is a common cause of low back and radicular pain. Microdiscectomy is the recommended surgical technique for herniated lumbar discs at the moment. It has great success rates and little postoperative morbidity. We aimed to assess the clinical result and patient satisfaction of micro-discectomy in lumbar disc herniation patients. Methodology: This is a prospective observational hospital-based research of 26 patients who had micro-discectomy at the Regional Clinical Center of Neurosurgery and Neurology in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, during August and September 2021. The research excluded patients with recurrent prolapsed intervertebral discs, multiple level herniated discs, and disc surgery requiring stability. During surgery, the kind of prolapsed intervertebral disc, its level, and the duration of the procedure were recorded. Additionally, we recorded the duration of the patient's hospital stay and any complications. The visual analogue scale (VAS), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and the MacNab score questionnaires were used to measure pain, disability, and patient satisfaction, respectively. Result: All procedures were performed on a single level using micro-discectomy. The mean age of the study population was 45.69 years. Micro-discectomy surgeries were performed in less than an hour in 69.2% of cases. The most often seen lumbar prolapsed intervertebral disc occurred at the L4-L5 level (57.7%). The most often seen kinds of prolapse were disc extrusion (30.8%) and disc sequestration (26.9%). The mean length of stay in the hospital was 3.96 days. After surgery, 57.7% of patients received an excellent rating on the Macnab's scale. There was a statistically significant difference between pre- and postoperative VAS and ODI scores (p<0.05). Conclusion: Overall 65.4% of patients had no postoperative complications. In these instances, a proper surgical technique might help avoid problems. Our findings demand additional investigation with bigger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods.