Effect of transforaminal endoscopic discectomy extent on postoperative neurological recovery in lumbar disc herniation: a retrospective cohort study

Limited discectomy achieved equivalent neurological recovery outcomes compared to aggressive disc removal while requiring significantly less operative time. These findings support adopting less extensive surgical approaches when adequate neural decompression can be accomplished, potentially reducing surgical trauma while maintaining therapeutic efficacy. While these 6-month findings support limited discectomy for early recovery, longer follow-up studies are needed to assess medium to long-term outcomes including recurrence rates and degenerative changes.