Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of 3D printing -assisted percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods:A randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 60 patients with LDH who received treatment at The Second Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University from January 2020 to June 2023. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups using the random number table method, with 30 patients in each group. The control group received conventional PTED, while the observation group underwent 3D printing -assisted PTED. Surgical indicators, including operation time, number of fluoroscopy sessions, and number of needle punctures, as well as clinical efficacy assessed at 3 months postoperatively, were compared between the two groups. Results:The observation group had a significantly lower number of punctures [(2.17 ± 0.68) times] compared with the control group [(5.01 ± 2.15) times]. The operation time in the observation group [(64.31 ± 8.33) minutes] was significantly shorter than that in the control group [(71.89 ± 8.72) minutes]. The observation group had fewer fluoroscopy sessions [(12.27 ± 2.61) times] compared with the control group [(19.20 ± 2.67) times]. All differences were statistically significant ( t = 11.90, 3.63, 10.16, all P < 0.05). At 3 months postoperatively, the rates of excellent and good clinical outcomes according to the MacNab criteria were 96.67% (29/30) in the observation group and 93.33% (28/30) in the control group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (χ2 = 0.00, P = 1.000). Conclusion:Preoperative planning utilizing 3D printing technology can effectively assist with the puncture during PTED. It can enhance the efficiency and safety of the procedure, reduce radiation exposure, and exhibit significant application value.

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of 3D printing -assisted percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods:A randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 60 patients with LDH who received treatment at The Second Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University from January 2020 to June 2023. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups using the random number table method, with 30 patients in each group. The control group received conventional PTED, while the observation group underwent 3D printing -assisted PTED. Surgical indicators, including operation time, number of fluoroscopy sessions, and number of needle punctures, as well as clinical efficacy assessed at 3 months postoperatively, were compared between the two groups. Results:The observation group had a significantly lower number of punctures [(2.17 ± 0.68) times] compared with the control group [(5.01 ± 2.15) times]. The operation time in the observation group [(64.31 ± 8.33) minutes] was significantly shorter than that in the control group [(71.89 ± 8.72) minutes]. The observation group had fewer fluoroscopy sessions [(12.27 ± 2.61) times] compared with the control group [(19.20 ± 2.67) times]. All differences were statistically significant ( t = 11.90, 3.63, 10.16, all P < 0.05). At 3 months postoperatively, the rates of excellent and good clinical outcomes according to the MacNab criteria were 96.67% (29/30) in the observation group and 93.33% (28/30) in the control group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (χ2 = 0.00, P = 1.000). Conclusion:Preoperative planning utilizing 3D printing technology can effectively assist with the puncture during PTED. It can enhance the efficiency and safety of the procedure, reduce radiation exposure, and exhibit significant application value.