FORAMINAL AND LATEROFORAMINAL HERNIATED DISKS - MIDTERM RESULTS OF PERCUTANEOUS TREATMENT WITH CHEMONUCLEOLYSIS OR NUCLEOTOMY

Forty cases of foraminal (28) and lateroforaminal (12) herniated discs treated either by nucleolysis (N.L.) or percutaneous automated nucleo tomy (P.A.N.) were investigated over a period of 12 months or more. Th e group of patients treated with P.A.N. (15 males, 5 females) with a m ean age of 41.8 years, had severe radicular pain in 25 % of cases, cau sed by foraminal (15 cases) and lateroforaminal (5 cases) herniated di scs wich were predominantly located at the L4-L5 level (12 cases). The group of patients treated with N.L. (13 M, 7 F) with a mean age of 50 .3 years complained of severe radicular pain in 65 % of cases, caused by foraminal (13 cases) and lateroforaminal (7 cases) disc herniations evenly distributed over the last three mobile segments. The overall r esults obtained with N.L. and P.A.N. showed a 67.5 % success rate. The best results were obtained in cases of cruralgia with severe radicula r pain caused by foraminal herniated disc at the L3-LA or L4-L5 levels . A significantly better result was obtained in the group of patients treated by N.L. (80 % success rate) than in the group of patients trea ted by P.A.N. (p < 0,04).