Comparison of Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Discectomy with Other Surgical Technics: A Systemic Review of Indications and Outcomes of Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Discectomy from the Current Literature

OBJECTIVE: Unilateral biportal endoscopic (UBE) spine surgery for spinal diseases has been increasing in popu-larity because of its favorable outcomes. The goal of this systemic review is to analyze the status of outcomes and complications in lumbar disc herniation during UBE discectomy. -METHODS: A comprehensive search of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and OVID databases published -ntil June 30, 2021, was performed. The outcomes of in-terest were indications, operative time, blood loss, hospital stay, complications, visual analog scale score, and Oswestry Disability Index. -RESULTS: Seven studies were included in our research. UBE surgery for lumbar stenosis was excluded. A total of 230 patients with lumbar disc herniation were enrolled in the 7 selected studies. The mean operative time was 74.4 minutes, and the mean length of hospital stay was 4.5 days. Mean incidence of complications reported in the 7 articles was 6.2%. UBE showed shorter hospital stays than did microdiscectomy, no significant differences of Oswestry Disability Index or visual analog scale scores, and good recovery rate among other discectomy techniques (micro-discectomy, full endoscopic transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy, and interlaminar endoscopic lumbar discectomy) at 1 month follow-up. -CONCLUSIONS: Even with the small number of studies and reports analyzed, biases were the main limitation of this analysis; overall, the clinical outcomes and compli-cation rates associated with UBE discectomy were rela-tively good. It is clear that UBE discectomy is a good treatment choice for lumbar disc herniation, but to prevent u nique UBE surgery complications, a clear understanding of the surgical procedures and careful efforts to overcome the learning curve are necessary.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the outcomes and complications of UBE discectomy for lumbar disc herniation. The results showed relatively good clinical outcomes and a low incidence of complications associated with UBE discectomy.