Even though most common surgical interventions for spinal pain pertain to the herniated disc, numerous studies have indicated that only 1% of severe episodes of low back pain is attributable to herniated discs. With the advent of spinal canal endoscopy, an additional option is available for medical management of disc disease, which facilitates irrigation, dilution, and removal of inflammatory mediators, thus decreasing the chance of reactivity to chemical and biological mediators, and facilitating administration of corticosteroid medication with specificity to site of action.

This pilot study included two groups of patients, Group 1 with 22 patients treated via spinal endoscopy and Group 2 with 13 patients treated via laminectomy. After spinal canal endoscopy, only 31.8% of Group 1 patients were continued on opioid medication, whereas, 92.3% of Group 2 patients were continued on opioid medication after laminectomy. In addition, 72% from spinal canal endoscopy group and only 28% from laminectomy group returned to work.

In conclusion, this study suggested remarkable differences in outcomes when comparing patients who underwent spinal canal endoscopy to a similar population who underwent lumbar laminectomy.

Keywords: Spinal canal endoscopy, lumbar laminectomy, herniated disc, low back pain.