Lumbar retrodiscal transforaminal steroid injection [Lomber retrodiskal transforaminal steroid enjeksiyonu]

Objective: to assess the therapeutic efficacy of lumbar retrodiscal transforaminal corticosteroid injection in sciatica. also to compare with surgery in terms of patients satisfaction. methods: 43 patients with sciatica were treated with lumbar retrodiscal transforaminal steroid injection. the patients were invited for control assessments using visual analogue scale at 1,3,6 and 12 months after the procedure. after completing prospective case series study; 29 of the patients were compared with a series of 29 patients who undergone laminotomy and discectomy for sciatica in the same time period,in terms of patients' satisfaction. results: the success rates of the procedure at immediate post-procedure period,and 1,3,6,12 months after the procedure were 81,4%,65,1%,60,5%,58,1% and 57,1% respectively. patients’ satisfaction levels were higher in the surgery group at their last controls. conclusions: lumbar retrodiscal transforaminal steroid injection is effective in relieving sciatic pain from herniated disks in more than half of the cases. though surgery seems more effective in terms of patient satisfaction,injection therapy can be tried as an intermediate step after conservative,before surgical treatment modalities. © 2016,ege university press. all rights reserved.