title: Percutaneous endoscopic interlaminar discectomy for pediatric lumbar disc herniation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Percutaneous endoscopic interlaminar discectomy (PEID) is a widely used minimally invasive procedure which shows satisfying outcomes in the adult population. However, pediatric lumbar disc herniations (PLDH) occur in growing spines and are less related to degeneration, which makes them different from the adult disc herniations. This study evaluates the clinical outcomes of PEID in treating PLDH.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospect study was done in the period from June 2010 to December 2012, which included 29 consecutive pediatric patients with a mean age of 16.4 years (range, 13 to 18 years) who underwent PEID for single level lumbar disc herniation. The following measuring tools were used: visual analog scale (VAS) for back and leg pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Macnab criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no severe complications such as dural tear or nerve root damage found in our study. The mean follow-up period was 19.7 months. The VAS score for leg and back pain decreased dramatically at 1 day postoperatively and kept decreasing until the follow-up visit at 3 months postoperatively, when it became stable at a low level. ODI kept improving until the follow-up visit at 6 months postoperatively when it reached a stable low level. Of the patients, 91% reported no longer having leg pain and 9% had occasional leg pain at last follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PEID shows a satisfying outcome with a minimal rate of complications. It has the advantages of minimal traumatization and scar formation and is a safe and effective treatment for PLDH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No. 37 Guo Xue Xiang St, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiandi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jiancheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Hongfei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Guo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhuhai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hushan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Qingquan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Yueming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D017587:Diskectomy, Percutaneous / Q000379:methods*; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D064232:Visual Analog Scale