Functional outcome of discectomy in lumbar disc prolapse

Abstract

Background: Sciatica resulting from a lumbar intervertebral disc prolapse is the most common cause of radicular leg pain in adult working population. It can be treated with both conservative and operative methods. In our study, we have chosen open discectomy as an appropriate mode of surgical treatment for lumbar intervertebral disc prolapse. We assessed the surgical outcomes of patients treated with discectomy in lumbar disc prolapse. Objectives: To compare pre and post-operative back pain and leg pain using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and functional outcome using modified Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Methods: 30 patients were included in this study and were followed up for up to 6 months postoperatively. We assessed the functional outcome of each patient with ODI and VAS post-operatively and at 6 months. Results: We found that males had higher incidence (60%) of disc prolapse. Majority of the patients presented with left sided radiculopathy (60%) and most commonly involving L4-L5 level (76.7%). The mean ODI and VAS score pre-operatively were 59.40±6.07 and 8 respectively, which improved to 15.12±5.15 and 1, respectively at 6 months post-operative follow-up. These were statistically highly significant. Conclusions: Our study established that open discectomy has a satisfactory functional outcome and leads to a significant improvement in the patients’ quality of life.