title: Short-term follow-up: micro-invasive therapy of the cervical herniated disk by percutaneous nucleotomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this article is to present the clinical results of percutaneous nucleotomy treatment on patients with cervical disk herniation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with long-term chronic pain due to either cervical prolapse or protrusion were recruited for cervical nucleotomy. The surgical procedures were performed between mid-2008 and the beginning of 2009. The purpose of the surgeries was to relieve radicular irritation and reduce the chronic, high level of pain by micro-technically withdrawing herniated nucleus pulposus tissue.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After the percutaneous nucleotomy, the patients were hospitalized for an average of 3 to 4 days. In all complete documented cases (57.5%) the pain was substantially reduced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cervical percutaneous nucleotomy is a promising alternative to traditional open disk surgery or to chemonucleolysis for herniated disks of the cervical spine.
authors.affiliation: Interventional Radiology Department, St.-Josef Hospital, Essen, Germany. j.timmermann@kkrh.de
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Timmermann
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Karlgeorg
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krueger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D017587:Diskectomy, Percutaneous / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000601:surgery*; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D016896:Treatment Outcome