Percutaneous Lumbar Mechanical Disc Decompression Utilizing Dekompressor®: An Update of Current Evidence

Background: The primary goal of the surgical treatment of nerve root compression from a discprotrusion continues to be the relief of compression by removing the herniated nuclear materialwith open discectomy. However, poor results have been reported for contained disc herniations withopen surgical interventions. In recent years, a number of minimally invasive nuclear decompressiontechniques for lumbar disc prolapse, protrusion, and/or herniation have been introduced, includingthe Dekompressor®. The efficacy of several alternative techniques, including the Dekompressor,automated percutaneous discectomy, and laser discectomy, has been described, but is notconvincing. There is a continued paucity of evidence for all decompression techniques.Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate and update the literaturedescribing the clinical effectiveness of Dekompressor, a high rotation per minute (RPM) deviceused in mechanical lumbar disc decompression.Study Design: A systematic review of the literature focusing on mechanical disc decompressionwith Dekompressor.Methods: The available literature on the use of percutaneous disc decompression (PDD) withDekompressor to manage chronic low back and lower extremity pain was reviewed using theCochrane Musculoskeletal Review Group criteria for randomized trials and the Newcastle-OttawaScale criteria for observational studies.The level of evidence was classified as good, fair, and limited or poor based on the US PreventiveServices Task Force (USPSTF) system for grading the quality of evidence.Data sources included relevant literature identified through PubMed and EMBASE from 1966 throughSeptember 2012, and manual searches of the bibliographies of known primary and review articles.Outcome Measures: Pain relief was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomemeasures were functional improvement, improvement of psychological status, opioid intake, andreturn to work.Short-term effectiveness was defined as one year or less. Long-term effectiveness was defined asgreater than one year.Results: Only 5 studies were considered for inclusion. Of those, only 3 of them met inclusioncriteria.Based on USPSTF criteria, the level of evidence for PDD with Dekompressor is limited.Limitations: Paucity of high quality literature.Conclusion: This systematic review found limited evidence for PDD with Dekompressor.Key words: Intervertebral disc disease, chronic low back pain, mechanical disc decompression,disc protrusion, disc extrusion, radiculitis, Dekompressor.