Failures of Chemonucleolysis

Abstract

Multiple well-performed studies, both open and double blind, have permitted assertion of the therapeutic value of chemonucleolysis. The success of this therapy varies between 65% and 90% [1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21]; 10%–20% of patients presenting a bad result are subsequently operated upon. The intervention often recognizes an excluded hernia or a narrow lumbar canal [5]. From 10% to 20% of patients do not recover normal professional or domestic activity and continue to present a lumbar sciatica without being operated upon. It is interesting to analyse this group of patients, nonrelieved and nonoperated upon, and to compare them with other operated upon or cured patients, in order to find out what factors allow the prediction of success or failure in nucleolysis. This is the aim of the present work based on the statistical analysis of some important data and regrouping of the results several centers (Table 1).