ZHAO Qinghao,LIN Rongzhen,PENG Jing.Clinical efficacy of L-unitary soft endoscopy(LUSE) system assisted discectomy for lumbar disc herniation[J].Chinese Journal of Spine and Spinal Cord,2026,(4):397-404.
Clinical efficacy of L-unitary soft endoscopy(LUSE) system assisted discectomy for lumbar disc herniation
Received:May 17, 2025  Revised:January 14, 2026
English Keywords:Unitary soft endoscopy  Lumbar disc herniation  Nucleus pulposus removal  Minimally invasive spinal techniques
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Author NameAffiliation
ZHAO Qinghao Department of Spine Surgery, Center for Orthopedic Surgery, the Third Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510630, China 
LIN Rongzhen 南方医科大学第三附属医院脊柱外科 510630 广州市 
PENG Jing 南方医科大学第三附属医院脊柱外科 510630 广州市 
柳渊瀚  
毛唯韬  
郑志扬  
刘则征  
黎庆初  
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English Abstract:
  【Abstract】 Objectives: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of a novel L-unitary soft endoscopy(LUSE) system developed by our team in assisting discectomy for lumbar disc herniation(LDH). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 63 patients with LDH who underwent either LUSE system-assisted discectomy(LUSE group) or microendoscopic discectomy(MED group) at our institution between June and October 2024. There were 30 cases in the LUSE group, including 17 males and 13 females, with an age of 41.83±12.50 years. There were 33 cases in the MED group, including 22 males and 11 females, with an age of 45.79±14.25 years. Perioperative outcomes including operative time, intraoperative blood loss, incision length, and postoperative hospital stay, as well as complication rate were compared between the two groups. Postoperative pain and functional recovery were assessed using the visual analog scale(VAS) score and Oswestry disability index(ODI). Clinical satisfaction at 6-month follow-up was evaluated using the modified MacNab criteria. Results: All procedures were completed successfully without major complications. Compared with the MED group, the LUSE group had significantly shorter operative time(55.17±10.77min vs 64.30±12.26min, P=0.003), shorter incision length(median 1.6cm vs 2.1cm, P<0.001), less intraoperative blood loss(median 20mL vs 30mL, P=0.018), and reduced hospital stay(median 4d vs 5d, P=0.008). VAS score and ODI significantly improved in both groups(P<0.001), with no statistically significant differences in low back and leg pain VAS scores between the two groups at each postoperative time point(P>0.05). ODI improvement rate was (84.50±2.84)% in the LUSE group and (82.61±3.05)% in the MED group, with no statistically significant difference(P=0.059). According to the modified MacNab criteria, the excellent and good outcome rates were 86.67% in the LUSE group and 84.84% in the MED group, with no statistically significant difference(P=0.646). Conclusions: The LUSE-assisted discectomy is a safe, efficient, and minimally invasive solution for lumbar disc herniation, which significantly reduces surgical trauma and speeds up postoperative recovery comparing with MED.
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