Transforaminal Full-Endoscopic Surgery for Lumbar Foraminal Pathologies: A Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Study

Abstract

Background and objectives: Full-endoscopic surgery is increasingly used for treating lumbar foraminal pathologies, though the specific indications remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate patient-reported outcomes after transforaminal full-endoscopic spine surgery for various lumbar foraminal conditions.

Methods: Multicenter cohort study of patients with intervertebral lumbar foraminal pathology who underwent full-endoscopic decompression at four medical centers. Postoperative patient-reported outcomes, including low back and leg pain as well as Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores, were prospectively tracked using a mobile app for 6 months. Six-month outcome measures (patient-reported outcome measures) were used as the primary outcome variable to determine treatment effectiveness regarding various foraminal pathologies.

Results: A total of 83 patients with a mean age of 57.04 ± 1.63 years were included. The most common operative levels were L4/5 for transforaminal endoscopic discectomies (59.6%) and L5/S1 for endoscopic foraminotomies (58.1%). Endoscopic discectomies resulted in significant improvements in Visual Analog Scale scores for low back pain (from 5.85 ± 0.43 to 3.02 ± 0.41; P < .001), leg pain (from 6.66 ± 0.34 to 3.12 ± 0.57; P < .001), and ODI scores (from 24.39 ± 1.35 to 12.32 ± 176; P < .001). Endoscopic foraminotomies also resulted in significant improvements in Visual Analog Scale scores for low back pain (from 5.58 ± 0.53 to 3.68 ± 0.58; P < .001) and leg pain (from 6.42 ± 0.47 to 4.21 ± 0.58; P < .001), as well as ODI scores (from 19.28 ± 1.41 to 14.67 ± 2.03; P < .01). The amount of improvement was independent of the severity of foraminal stenosis, as determined on preoperative MRI. However, vertical foraminal stenosis was associated with the lowest treatment response rate.

Conclusion: Endoscopic foraminotomies result in clinically meaningful symptomatic improvement for most lumbar foraminal pathologies. However, the effectiveness of decompression surgery for vertical foraminal stenosis is limited and requires further investigation.