title: Comparison of Outcomes of Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy and Open Lumbar Microdiscectomy for Young Adults: A Retrospective Matched Cohort Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There have been only a few studies on surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) in young adults. In addition, previous studies do not provide detailed information on the surgical outcomes for young adults with LDH. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcome of transforaminal percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) and open lumbar microdiscectomy for active, young adults (age 20-25 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed retrospective chart and radiography. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the surgical methods. Group A included the patients who underwent transforaminal PELD, and Group B included the patients who underwent open lumbar microdiscectomy for LDH at L4/5. After we matched for several factors, 32 young patients in group A and 34 young patients in group B were analyzed. We compared the outcomes between the 2 groups in terms of clinical, radiologic, perioperative outcomes, and surgery-related complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The clinical results for leg pain and radiologic results for decompression were the same in both groups. Most of complications in the PELD group occurred in the early phase. The recurrence rate and operation failure rate was no difference between the groups. The PELD brought significant advantages in the following areas: back pain, operation time, blood loss, hospital stay, and return-to-work.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although a learning curve is needed in order to become familiar with PELD, PELD seemed to be a good choice for disc herniation in the lumbar spine for active, young adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Gangnam Severance Spine Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address: ahnsangsoak@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Sang-Soak
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Dong-A University Medical Center, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Hyeon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Dong-A University Medical Center, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Won
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, The Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Hun
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D001416:Back Pain / Q000601:surgery; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017587:Diskectomy, Percutaneous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000601:surgery*; D007866:Leg; D007902:Length of Stay; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D062707:Return to Work; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Diskectomy; Endoscopy; Intervertebral disc displacement; Percutaneous; Young adult