How to Confirm and Document Adequate Lumbar Spine Discectomy Intraoperatively?

How to Confirm and Document Adequate Lumbar Spine Discectomy Intraoperatively?

Author Info

Corresponding Author
Joseph Gamal Boktor
ST3 Trauma and Orthopaedics, Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, Wales, United Kingdom

A B S T R A C T

Lumbar discectomy is a common procedure for acute disc prolapse, especially in patients with neurological deficit [1]. The literature describes using fluoroscopy intraoperatively to avoid wrong level and side [2]. However, there is no method to confirm/document adequate discectomy apart from a postoperative MRI. The authors' technique involves taking clinical photos of the removed disc material. This technique provides accurate, low-cost documentation, and the patient can review it post-operatively. This could be of significant value in large disc prolapse and cauda equina syndrome surgery.

Article Info

Article Type
Case Report
Publication history
Received: Wed 18, Nov 2020
Accepted: Thu 10, Dec 2020
Published: Tue 22, Dec 2020
Copyright
© 2023 Joseph Gamal Boktor. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.SCR.2020.12.20