• Gushang Xia, En Song, Qingli Kong, and Xianglin Li.
• Department of Orthopaedics, The People's Hospital of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Chuxiong, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Sep 27; 103 (39): e39763e39763.

RationaleLumbar disc herniation (LDH) manifests in diverse forms. If the nucleus pulposus or endplate tissues protrudes, the location of annular tears also varies, which poses various challenges for the annular suture technique. Tears at the annular attachment area at the edge of the vertebral body (cephalad or caudad) are considered a prohibitively challenging area for annular suturing.Patient ConcernsA 37-year-old woman presented with a gradual onset of symptoms, experiencing leg pain and numbness over the left leg for 1 year before presentation. The pain radiated to the left S1 dermatome. Despite undergoing continuous medical therapy for more than 6 months, her symptoms showed no improvement. The strength of the left plantar flexion in the ankle and great toe was rated at 4 out of 5. The straight leg-raising and strengthening tests were positive for the left sides. Lumbar computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed left-sided disc herniation at the L5-S1 level, and nerve root compression, confirming the diagnosis of LDH.DiagnosesThe preoperative impression was LDH, intraoperative confirmation of a tear in the annular attachment area at the vertebral body edge.InterventionsThis patient was treated with an arthroscopic-assisted uniportal spinal surgery (AUSS) technique focusing on ligament flavum (LF) preservation, protruding nucleus pulposus removal, nerve root decompression, and vertebral edge tear was then sutured using a bone anchoring annular suture with the Smile suture device.OutcomesThis technique was performed successfully in a patient with LDH. Significant improvements were observed in postoperative pain and numbness, Visual Analog Scale, and Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores. No postoperative instability or complications were observed, with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging confirming complete decompression. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first used AUSS with LF preservation and bone anchoring annular suture technique for LDH.LessonsThis case study demonstrates the AUSS combined with LF preservation and the bone anchoring annular suture technique provides favorable clinical and imaging outcomes and is a safe and effective technique for the treatment of LDH.Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

17 keywords...

hide…