Jiang ZX, Ren JB, Li YC, Chen L. Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic treatment of gas-containing pseudocyst compressing the L5 nerve root: A case report. World J Orthop 2025; 16(2): 103416 [DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i2.103416]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yu-Cai Li, Department of Orthopaedics, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, China. beifangrengui@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. Feb 18, 2025; 16(2): 103416 Published online Feb 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i2.103416
Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic treatment of gas-containing pseudocyst compressing the L5 nerve root: A case report
Zhen-Xian Jiang, Ji-Bin Ren, Yu-Cai Li, Lei Chen
Zhen-Xian Jiang, Ji-Bin Ren, Yu-Cai Li, Lei Chen, Department of Orthopaedics, Rizhao People's Hospital, Rizhao 276800, Shandong Province, China
Yu-Cai Li, Department of Orthopaedics, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200336, China
Co-first authors: Zhen-Xian Jiang and Ji-Bin Ren.
Co-corresponding authors: Yu-Cai Li and Lei Chen.
Author contributions: Jiang ZX and Ren JB contribute equally to this study as co-first authors; Li YC and Chen L contribute equally to this study as co-corresponding authors; Jiang ZX and Ren JB collected the patient's data and wrote the initial draft; Li YC and Chen L performed the surgery and edited the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: In this case report, the authors obtained informed consent from the patient and removed all information that could identify the patient.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yu-Cai Li, Department of Orthopaedics, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, China. beifangrengui@163.com
Received: November 20, 2024 Revised: December 25, 2024 Accepted: January 18, 2025 Published online: February 18, 2025 Processing time: 84 Days and 18.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Gas-containing pseudocysts rarely cause of lumbar radiculopathy. This report describes successful treatment of a gas-containing pseudocyst using percutaneous transforaminal endoscopy.
CASE SUMMARY
A 48-year-old man presented with severe pain and numbness in his right leg, which worsened upon walking or weight bearing. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a gas-containing cyst compressing the left L5 nerve root at the L4–5 level. The pseudocyst was successfully removed using a percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy. Vivid and clear endoscopic imaging of the pseudocysts was performed intraoperatively. The patient experienced immediate pain relief and was discharged one day after the operation. The patient returned to work. Moreover, numbness in the right leg returned to normal within 6 months. At the one-year follow-up, there was no symptoms recurrence.
CONCLUSION
Transforaminal endoscopy offers excellent surgical visualization and facilitates meticulous operative manipulation, making it a minimally invasive approach for treating gas-containing pseudocysts in the intervertebral foramen.
Core Tip: This study described a successful treatment of lumbar radiculopathy caused by gas-containing pseudocyst through percutaneous transforaminal endoscopy (PTE). Combining preoperative images with details of intraoperative videos such as bubble formation, we determined that the diagnosis was a gas-containing pseudocyst. Additionally, it confirms that PTE can be used to excise gas-containing pseudocysts within the intervertebral foramen.
