Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis evaluated surgical outcomes following endoscopic or conventional discectomy for recurrent lumbar disc herniation. METHODS: Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were search until October 16, 2016 using these terms: recurrent lumbar disc herniation, endoscopic surgery, and discectomy. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective, retrospective, and cohort studies were eligible for inclusion. Pooled difference in mean (PDM) with 95% confidence interval (CIs) or relative risks (RRs) were calculated using fixed-effects methods. RESULTS: One RCT and 15 studies were included with a total of 820 patients. Patients received endoscopic surgery experienced shorter operation time than those received conventional surgery (PDM: -52.01, 95% CI: -76.84 to -27.18, P < 0.001). A significantly lower risk in complication was displayed in patients received endoscopic surgery compared to those received conventional surgery (RR: 0.209, 95% CI: 0.076-0.581, P = 0.003). No significant difference in the improvement in VAS (PDM: -2.19, 95% CI: -5.78 to 1.39, P = 0.231), length of stay (PDM: -6.44, 95% CI: -13.76 to 0.89, P = 0.085) and re-recurrence rate (PDM: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.22-3.50, P = 0.861) between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic and conventional discectomy reduced patient pain comparably, but endoscopic discectomy had significantly lower operation time and lower risk in complications, which may impact other outcomes such as recovery and healthcare costs. More studies are needed to confirm our findings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-022-00636-1.