Introduction: Calcified thoracic disc herniations are rare and their approach represents a surgical challenge when they are giant and symptomatic Surgery is indicated in cases of intractable back pain with medical management persistent intercostal neuralgia or progressive neurological deficit with the transthoracic extrapleural approach being the one of choice because it has advantages regarding the best view of the operative field We present the case of a patient with a giant calcified thoracic hernia who was successfully operated on in our hospital using an extrapleural transthoracic approach. Clinical case: A 53-year-old male with dorsal pain in the medial region radiating to the inframammary region and progressive difficulty walking moderate proximal paraparesis T8 sensory level and urinary retention CT and MRI images showed a large calcified T6-7 disc herniation causing severe compression of the spinal cord The patient underwent a T6-7 extrapleural transthoracic discectomy plus a T6 partial corpectomy without fusion The patient tolerated the procedure well with no complications and the postoperative images one month after surgery demonstrated spinal cord decompression At follow-up irradiated back pain sensory level paraparesis and urinary retention improved. Conclusion: Extrapleural transthoracic discectomy can be considered a safe approach in the case of giant calcified thoracic hernias since it allows resection of the calcified disc fragment and decompression of the spinal cord. Keywords: Intervertebral Disc Displacement, Diskectomy, Spinal Cord, Decompression (Source: MeSH NLM)

Objective: Herniation of the nucleus pulposus (HNP) is the leading cause of sciatica. The standard diagnostic test is magnetic resonance imaging, and treatment can be conservative or surgical. The most common surgical technique is lumbar microdiscectomy. The objective of the study was to know the epidemiological and clinical profile, as well as the surgical results of patients undergoing lumbar microdiscectomy at the Almenara Hospital from January 2018 to August 2021. Methods: Descriptive, retrospective, and cross-sectional epidemiological study. We found 82 patients who underwent lumbar microdiscectomy with complete data in the clinical history. The data was collected from the clinical history of hospitalization and outpatient consultation. Proportions were applied for qualitative variables and mean with confidence interval in quantitative variables. Results: Of the total number of patients, 69.51% were male, the most frequent age group was 31-50 years, and most came from Lima. The most frequently operated anatomical levels were L4 and L5. Regarding the clinic, 95.12% presented positive Lasegue. The mean preoperative VAS decreased from 7.83 to 2.00. Recurrence was 4.88%, and the most frequent complication was inadvertent durotomy. Conclusions: HNP is the most common cause of sciatica. The most frequent surgical management is lumbar microdiscectomy, which has good clinical results as well as a low rate of complications and recurrence. Keywords: Spine, Sciatica, Nucleus Pulposus, Diskectomy, Neurosurgical Procedures. (Source: MeSH NLM)

Introduction: This study describes the imaging characteristics and accessibility of the L4 / L5 left oblique corridor used in the OLIF spinal fusion approach and the dimensions of the left oblique corridor at L2/L3 and L3/L4. Methods: Observational, retrospective, and descriptive study, in which MRI is described for 330 patients. The length of the left OC L2/L3, L3/L4, and L4/L5 were measured and classified into four grades: 0 (not measurable), 1 (≤10 mm), 2 (10–20 mm), and 3 (≥20 mm). The psoas was measured at the level of the L4 / L5, and the modified Moro classification was used for the height of the psoas, considering high psoas from AII to AIV. The data was processed in the SPSS 26.0 system. Results: The mean age was 62.1 ± 13.5 years, the OC length in L2/L3, L3/L4 y L4/L5 were 16.1 ± 5.9, 16.2 ± 6.7 and 14.7 ± 8.8 mm, respectively. 14.8% had high psoas. OC grade 0 (2.1%) was obtained in 7 patients, 87 with grade 1 (26.4%), 129 with grade 2 (39.1%), and 107 with grade 3 (32.4%). The length of the OC in males was 2.4 mm (MD, 95% CI: 0.4–4.5, p: 0.02), more than in females. Conclusion: It was shown that 85.2% had an accessible psoas muscle for the left OLIF L4 / L5 approach, 71.5% had an accessible oblique corridor, and only 14.8% had high psoas. These parameters combined, 61.5% of MRI, were appropriate for this approach. Level of evidence III; Retrospective study.

Objetivo: Determinar si existe relación significativa entre la duración del dolor preoperatorio y el tiempo para el retorno laboral en pacientes operados de hernia discal lumbar. El estudio: Estudio retrospectivo, transversal y analítico. Pacientes operados de hernia discal lumbar por microdiscectomía. La “duración del dolor preoperatorio” se integró en dos grupos: >6 y ≤6 meses de dolor hasta el momento de la cirugía. “Retorno laboral” con punto de corte 3 meses. Se utilizó SPSS, se calculó el OR. Hallazgos: Se analizó 68 pacientes. 55,9% se operaron luego de 6 meses de iniciado los síntomas, 30,9% no retornaron al trabajo a los 3 meses después de la cirugía. El OR para el no retorno al trabajo a los 3 meses fue de 3.65 (IC95%:1.14–11.5 p:0,034). Conclusiones: La duración del dolor preoperatorio y el tiempo para el retorno laboral en pacientes operados con hernia discal lumbar, tienen una relación estadísticamente significativa.

Introducción: Las hernias del disco torácico calcificadas son poco frecuentes y su abordaje representa u n desafío quirúrgico cuando son gigantes y sintomáticas. La discectomía transtorácica extrapleural puede considerarse un abordaje seguro para resecar el fragmento de disco calcificado y descomprimir la médula espinal. Caso clínico: Hombre de 53 años con dorsalgia media irradiada a región inframamaria y dificultad progresiva para deambular, paraparesia proximal moderada, nivel sensitivo T8 y retención urinaria. Las imágenes demostraron una gran hernia de disco T6-7 calcificada que causaba una compresión severa de la médula espinal. El paciente se sometió a discectomía transtorácica extrapleural T6-7 más corpectomía parcial T6 sin fusión. El paciente toleró bien el procedimiento sin complicaciones y las imágenes postoperatorias al mes de la cirugia demostraron la descompresión de la médula espinal. En el seguimiento, la dorsalgia irradiada, el nivel sensitivo, la paraparesia y la retención urinaria mejoraron.