One-year clinical outcome of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy in patients with thoracic disc herniation

SHI Ce; WANG Yang; ZHU Aixiang

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2026.02.024

Abstract：Objective To observe the 1-year clinical outcome of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy in patients with thoracic disc herniation(TDH).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 8 patients with TDH,all of whom underwent percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy and completed a 1-year follow-up.Preop-eratively and at 1 day,7 days,1 month,3 months,6 months,and 1 year postoperatively,the visual analogue scale(VAS)was used to assess pain of the thoracic and dorsal regions as well as lower extremities,the Oswestry Disability In-dex(ODI)to evaluate thoracic spinal function,and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA)score to assess neurologi-cal function.The JOA improvement rate was calculated to evaluate therapeutic efficacy,and complications and reoperation cases during surgery and follow-up were recorded.Results All 8 patients underwent uneventful surgeries,with an aver-age operation time of(119.0±12.9)minutes and a hospital stay of 6.5(6-7)days.Compared with the preoperative val-ues,the VAS scores,ODI,and JOA scores at all postoperative time points were significantly improved(all P<0.05).The excellent and good rates at 3,6,and 12 months postoperatively were 75%,100%,and 100%,respectively.No complica-tions such as dural tear,nerve injury,or infection occurred during surgery and within 1 year of follow-up.Additionally,there were no cases of thoracic spinal instability,adjacent segment degeneration,or reoperations.Conclusions Percuta-neous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy significantly alleviated preoperative pain in patients with TDH and improved spinal function.The therapeutic effect tended to be stable at 6 months after the operation.No complications occurred intra-operatively or during the 1-year follow-up period,and no revision surgery was necessary.