A minimally invasive technique for L5-S1 intraforaminal disc herniations: microdiscectomy with a tubular retractor via a contralateral approach.

Surgical treatment of intraforaminal disc herniations at the L5-S1 level is technically demanding. The 2 most commonly used procedures involve either a medial or lateral ipsilateral approach and often require a partial or even complete facet resection, which may in turn result in vertebral instability and/or back pain, as well as, in some cases, a fusion or stabilization procedure. In this report, the authors present a new minimally invasive technique for the treatment of L5-S1 intraforaminal disc herniations. Using this technique, which involves tubular retractors and an operative microscope to approach the neural foramen from the contralateral side, the authors could easily visualize and remove the herniated disc material and perform a thorough microdiscectomy with minimal resection of osseous and ligamentous structures. To illustrate this new minimally invasive technique for the treatment of intraforaminal disc herniations at L5-S1, they describe the cases of 2 patients who underwent the procedure and in whom successful results were achieved.