Comparison of the Effects of Epidural
Anesthesia and Local Anesthesia in Lumbar
Transforaminal Endoscopic Surgery
Authors: Ding Zihai 
Published: February 2021

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) is a standard technique for
the treatment of lumbar disc hernia. Thus far, most surgeons have recommended local anesthesia.
However, in clinical practice, some patients experience pain and are unable to cooperate with the
surgery during intervertebral foramen hemp expansion. The use of general anesthesia may create a
greater risk of complications because of nerve root anomalies; thus, intraoperative neurophysiological
monitoring should be utilized. Reports regarding the use of epidural anesthesia are few in comparison.
Objective: To investigate the risks and contingency plans of epidural anesthesia in lumbar
transforaminal endoscopic surgery.
Study Design: A retrospective analysis of all lumbar transforaminal endoscopic surgeries performed
from 2010 to 2014.
Setting: Kanghua hospital.
Methods: Patients treated with local and epidural anesthesia were divided into 2 groups. In local
anesthesia group (A) and local anesthesia group (B), 0.5% lidocaine and 0.25% ropivacaine was
administered, respectively. The incidences of complications, including urological complications, in
each surgical group as well as Oswestry disability idex (ODI) improvement rates, postoperative patient
satisfaction rates, and x-ray exposure times were assessed.
Results: From 2010 to 2014, there were 286 cases of lumbar transforaminal endoscopic surgeries,
121 cases utilizing local anesthesia and 165 cases utilizing epidural anesthesia. In cases in which
neurological complications occurred after surgery, 15 cases involved nerve root numbness, including
one case of foot drop and 2 cases of cerebrospinal leakage in the local anesthesia group, which
accounted for 12.4% of group A. However, in the epidural anesthesia group, which accounted for
9.70% of group B, there were 16 cases of nerve root numbness, including 2 cases of foot drop and 2
cases of cerebrospinal leakage. No significant difference was detected in the incidence of neurological
complications between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). The ODI improvement rates were 86.0% in the local
anesthesia group and 85.4% in the epidural anesthesia group (P > 0.05). The average x-ray exposure
times were 14.7 seconds and 16 seconds in the local anesthesia group and epidural anesthesia group,
respectively (P > 0.05). The postoperative patient satisfaction rates were 73.6% and 91% in the local
anesthesia group and epidural anesthesia group, respectively (P < 0.001).
Limitations: This was a single-blind study, and the complications observed were related to the
learning curve; all these factors may lead to biases.
Conclusions: Epidural anesthesia in transforaminal lumbar surgery is feasible and safe, and no
significant difference in neurological complications was observed between the epidural anesthesia
and the local anesthesia groups. However, for the patients concerned, the postoperative patient
satisfaction rate was significantly greater in the epidural anesthesia group. It is noteworthy that the
x-ray exposure times of the groups were not significantly different.
Key words: Epidural anesthesia, transforaminal lumbar surgery, neurological complications,
cerebrospinal leak