Iatrogenic dural tear in endoscopic lumbar spinal surgery: full endoscopic dural suture repair (Youn's technique).

BACKGROUND: With the advancement of minimally invasive spinal surgery, endoscopic lumbar decompression has been widely used for the treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal diseases. Iatrogenic dural tear is a relatively common complication in endoscopic lumbar spinal surgery. The golden standard of treatment for iatrogenic dural tear is immediate open conversion and direct repair under microscopic visualization. Recently, most of endoscopic spinal surgery is performed under local anesthesia. So, conversion to open surgery is very embarrassing situation because of the need of additional general anesthesia. But, direct endoscopic dural repair is very difficult procedure due to the limitation of manipulation. No report showed direct dural suture under full endoscopic situation.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this surgical technique is to provide a method of full endoscopic dural suture repair without conversion to open surgery.