Stepwise Local Anesthesia for Percutaneous Endoscopic Interlaminar Discectomy: Technique Strategy and Clinical Outcomes

Abstract

Due to suboptimal pain control under conventional local anesthesia, percutaneous endoscopic interlaminar discectomy is typically performed under general anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to develop a stepwise approach of local anesthesia for endoscopic interlaminar discectomy and evaluate its efficacy. A stepwise local anesthesia was developed, which mainly includes 3 steps: conventional local anesthesia from skin to laminae, epidural injection, and nerve root block. From June 2015 to May 2017, consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic interlaminar discectomy were included. Local anesthesia or general anesthesia was used based on patients' preference. Anesthetic effectiveness was evaluated as excellent, good, or poor, and adverse events were recorded. Hospitalization expense was compared between the 2 groups. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale and the Oswestry Disability Index. There were 98 patients included in the study. Among them, 48 received stepwise local anesthesia and the other 50 received general anesthesia. In the stepwise local anesthesia group, 40 (83.3%) patients rated anesthetic effectiveness as excellent, 7 (14.6%) as good, and 1 (2.1%) as poor. Nine patients had complications that may be associated with local anesthesia, including dyspnea, temporary paresis of legs, and temporary worsened dysesthesia or numbness in legs. After surgery, the patients' leg pain and Oswestry Disability Index significantly improved in both groups. On average, hospitalization expense was approximately 20% less when local anesthesia was used, as compared with using general anesthesia. The stepwise local anesthesia can achieve satisfactory pain control and seems to be a good choice for endoscopic interlaminar discectomy.