Arun S1 , Raj S. Chandran2
BACKGROUND The incidence of lumbar intervertebral disc prolapse is increasing in the current practice of neurosurgery. We wanted to study the social and demographic factors playing a role in the clinical spectrum of lumbar disc herniation patients and analyse the surgical treatment adopted. METHODS This is a prospective observational study of 200 patients with herniated lumbar disc conducted in the Department of Neurosurgery, Government Medical College, Trivandrum, during the period of April 2017 - March 2018. Among the selected patients, the demographic profile, clinical profile, radiological profile, and the surgical procedures adopted were observed and analysed. All patients were followed for a period 6 months postoperatively for the presence of complications. RESULTS Mean age of the patients was 44.7 ± 4.65 years. Males were 113 (56.50%) and females were 87 (43.5%). Low back pain was the most predominant presenting complaint present in 187 (93.50%) patients and followed by radicular pain in 171 (85.5%) patients. L4 - L5 inter space was involved in 122 (61.0%) patients, disc was extruded in 91 (45.5%) patients. Disc protrusion was observed in 81 (40.5%) of the patients. 45.5% of patients had extruded disc; the least common type was sequestrated type which was seen in 14% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of lumbar intervertebral disc prolapse is on the rise requiring medical attention. The most common age group affected was 31 - 50 years. Males were commonly affected which can be explained by the fact that men are exposed to more mechanical stresses like trauma, heavy weightlifting than females. Low back ache was the most common presenting complaint followed by radicular pain. Surgical methods adopted for LDH were very safe and successful with a success rate of 93%.
