Background: Lumbar radicular pain often results from lumbar disc herniation, spinal stenosis or degenerative spondylolisthesis. Minimally invasive disc decompression procedures such as nucleoannuloplasty or epiduroscopic neural decompression by laser have been devised to treat such pain.

Objective: The long term outcomes of disc decompression by endoscopic laser decompression (EELD) were curative in patients with lumbar radicular pain due to disc herniation.

Method: A total of 54 patient were enrolled in this study. The pain relief was evaluated at baseline and at postprocedural 1., 6,. 12., 24 months via VAS. Postoperative wound pain was assessed over a 24- hour period. Complications and side effects were also recorded as were operative times.

Results: At post- treatment 1., 6., 12., 24. months the mean pain scores of patients were significantly lower regardless of the procedure used. Four patinets undergoing EELD procedure experienced headache during the procedures, however no serious complications such as bleeding dural/neural injures or infection were recorded for EELD.

Conclusion: EELD is a reasinable treatment option for carefully selected patients with lower back or radicular pain.

Keywords: Epidoroscopy, laser, disc, herniation, annuloplasty