Abstract
Thirty early cases of microendoscopic surgery were reviewed. Twenty-one had posterior decompression for lumbar canal stenosis (LCS), and nine had discectomy for lumbar disc herniation (LDH). All cases recovered well clinically. Five cases switched to microscopic surgery, of these three had dural tears repaired under microscope. One case of LDH changed to microscopic surgery due to difficulty in locating the exact margin of nerve roots, and one case of LCS for loss of orientation. Both were finally treated successfully by microscopic surgery. Microendoscopic surgery is obviously a less invasive method, but has a steep learning curve.
