SURGICAL TREATMENT OF DISC HERNIATION IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Objective.To analyze the features of surgical treatment of children and adolescents with herniated discs and radicular compression symptoms.

Material and Methods. A retrospective multicenter study of 34 patients with juvenile osteochondrosis with mean age of 15.4 years was performed. Surgical treatment included disc puncture methods, microdiscectomy through posterior approach, anterior discectomy, dynamic and rigid stabilization, and replacement of the fibrous ring defect.

Results. Positive clinical effect with complete relief of pain was achieved in all cases. Paretic syndrome regressed completely in all patients. All patients regained the level of physical activity in the next 2-3 months. Long-term follow-up was on average 45.5 months. No recurrence of pain was noted during the follow-up period.

Conclusion. Surgical treatment of disc herniation in children results in the relief of pain and full functional recovery. Among surgical methods, a preference should be given to microdiscectomy through minimally invasive surgical approaches. In the presence of indications, both rigid stabilization of spinal motion segment at the level of decompression and dynamic stabilization can be performed, and the latter is more preferable. 

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