Abstract:Objective To analyze the clinical effect of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) in treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) which is ineffective after conservative treatment.Methods 60 patients with LDH who failed to receive conservative treatment were all treated with PELD. The visual analogue scale (VAS), the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, the excellent and good rate of modified Macnab and the incidence of complications were compared before and after treatment.Results The VAS of patients before and after operation was significantly different (F = 4.12, P < 0.05); The VAS at 6 and 12 months after operation were lower than that before operation (t = 4.27, t = 4.31, P < 0.05), and the VAS at 12 months after operation was lower than that at 6 months after operation (t = 4.06, P < 0.05); The JOA scores of patients before and after operation were significantly different (F = 8.74, P < 0.05); The JOA score at 6 and 12 months after operation were higher than that before operation (t = 5.89, t = 7.45, P < 0.05), and the JOA score at 12 months after operation was higher than that at 6 months after operation (t = 4.11, P < 0.05). The excellent and good rate of modified Macnab was 90.00% at 3 months after operation, and 93.34% at 12 months after operation; The difference was not statistically significant (χ2 = 0.44, P > 0.05). All patients successfully completed the operation without recurrence. The complication rate was 3.33% at 6 months after operation and 5.00% at 12 months after operation; There was no significant difference between them (χ2 = 0.21, P > 0.05).Conclusion PELD can significantly improve VAS and JOA scores, in patients with ineffective LDH after conservative treatment. The improved Macnab has a high excellent rate, and a low postoperative complication rate and a significant effect, which is worthy of clinical promotion.