BACKGROUND

Thoracic disc herniation (TDH) is uncommon. Central calcified TDH (CCTDH) is even rare. Traditional open surgery was considered a gold standard to treat CCTDH, but it was accompanied by a high risk of complications. Recently, a technique called percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic decompression (PTED) was adopted to treat TDH. Gu et al. designed a simplified PTED technique and named it percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic surgery (PTES) to treat various types of lumbar disc herniation; it offered the advantages of simple orientation, easy puncture, reduced steps, and little x-ray exposure. However, PTES to treat CCTDH has not been reported in the literature.

METHODS

Here, we describe the case of a patient with CCTDH treated with a modified PTES through the unilateral posterolateral approach under local anesthesia and conscious sedation by using a flexible power diamond drill. First, we report that the patient was treated with PTES with later-stage endoscopic foraminoplasty, with an inside-out technique employed at the initial endoscopic decompression stage.

RESULTS

A 50-year-old male with progressive gait disturbance and bilateral leg rigidity with paresis and numbness was diagnosed with CCTDH at the T11/T12 level on MRI and CT examinations. A modified PTES was performed on November 22, 2019. The total mJOA (modified Japanese Orthopedic Association) score preoperatively was 12. The method of the determination of incision and the soft tissue trajectory establishment process were the same as those in the original PTES technique. The foraminoplasty process was divided into initial fluoroscopic and final endoscopic stages. At the fluoroscopic stage, the hand trephine's saw teeth were just rotated into the lateral portion of the ventral bone from the superior articular process (SAP) to seize the SAP firmly, while at the endoscopic stage, in order to remove the ventral bone from the SAP safely under direct endoscopic visualization, adequate foramen enlargement was achieved without causing any risk of damage to the neural structures in the spinal canal. During the endoscopic decompression process, the soft disc fragments ventral to the calcified shell were undermined to form a cavity using an inside-out technique. Then, a flexible endoscopic diamond burr was introduced to degrade the calcified shell, and a curved dissector or a flexible radiofrequency probe was used to dissect the thin bony shell from the dural sac. Eventually, the shell was fractured within the cavity piece by piece to remove the whole CCTDH and achieve adequate dural sac decompression, resulting in minimal blood loss and no complications. The symptoms were gradually alleviated and the patient almost completely recovered at the 3-month follow-up, with no symptom recurrence found at the 2-year follow-up. The mJOA score improved to 17 at the 3-month follow-up and to 18 at the 2-year follow-up compared with 12 points preoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS

A modified PTES may be an alternative minimally invasive technique for the treatment of CCTDH and provide similar or better outcomes over traditional open surgery. However, this procedure requires good endoscopic experience on the part of the surgeon and is beset with technical challenges and therefore should be performed with utmost care.