Abstract

Background: Nucleoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure for managing chronic discogenic cervical pain. Although there are some reports of nucleoplasty outcome rates, few have dissected the detailed factors affecting those outcomes. Purpose: To evaluate outcomes of chronic cervical discogenic pains treated with nucleoplasty and success of it. Material & Methods: Data were gathered on the basis of records from 08 January 2005 to 08 January 2006. Thirty-six cases treated at a single or double levels with disc protrusion ≤2 mm, without motor deficities and annular tearing and positive discogram were studied. Minimum follow-up period was 24 months. All assessments included visual analog score (VAS) and at 6,12,24 and 36 months post-procedure. VAS was evaluated by a 10-point numeric rating scale, ranging from no aggravated pain “0” to the worst aggravated pain “10”. Results: The improvement of pain with VAS displayed moderate changes at 6, 12,24 and 36 months and patients ability of daily life were good. Conclusion: Good classified patients with cervical disc degeneration without annular tearing and motor deficities have a good prognosis managing with minimal invasive procedure, nucleoplasty.