Journal of Spine

Efficacy of Nucleo-Annuloplasty Using Disc-Fx in Lumbar Disc Herniation

Abstract

Chan Hong Park and Sang Ho Lee

Background: Lumbar radicular pain may be caused by lumbar disc herniation, spinal stenosis, or degenerative spondylolisthesis. It is most often caused by lumbar disc herniation and presents as pain radiating from the back into the leg, usually in a dermatomal pattern corresponding to the compressed nerve root. In patients whose pain does not respond to epidural steroid injections, other treatment modalities can be considered. Minimally invasive disc decompression procedures have been developed to treat radicular pain caused by disc herniation. The Disc-FX system combines percutaneous manual discectomy using forceps, nuclear ablation, and annular modification using radiofrequency equipment. To our knowledge, no reports of a correlation between response to Disc-FX and type of lumbar disc herniation have been published. The aim of this study was to determine patients’ responses to and shortterm outcomes of Disc-FX procedures.
Methods: This single-center study enrolled 43 patients and followed them for 6 months. Disc-FX procedures were performed in the operating room using local anesthesia. Outcome measures were obtained with a numeric rating scale at 1 and 6 months post-treatment.
Results: Patients’ mean pain scores were significantly lower 1 and 6 months after treatment than before treatment. The percentage of patients who experienced pain relief (numeric rating scale scores less than 50% of baseline scores) was 55.8% at 1 month and 56.1% at 6 months after the procedure. There were no statistically significant correlations between pain relief and type of herniation, pain location (lower back and/or leg pain), pain duration, or presence of an annular tear.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that the Disc-FX procedure is a reasonable treatment option for carefully selected patients with lower back and radicular pain of discogenic origin.