Fig 1.
1: Prone positioning of the animal with the hind limbs extended forward; 2: Placement of sterile drapes and fluoroscopic equipment; 3: Insertion of the guide needle for the transforaminal approach.
Fig 2.
Fluoroscopic localization for lumbar endoscopic decompression.
1-2: Fluoroscopic localization of the transforaminal approach trajectory; 3-4: Discography with contrast injection into the intervertebral disc space.
Fig 3.
Intraoperative view of the transforaminal approach.
Endoscopic visualization of the working channel after partial facetectomy, exposing the exiting nerve root and dural sac.
Fig 4.
Intraoperative view of the interlaminar approach.
Endoscopic decompression following flavectomy, with clear visualization of the dural sac and adjacent nerve root.
Table 1.
Summary of experimental surgical cases, including animal sex, total operative time, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and necropsy findings.
Fig 5.
Learning curve for endoscopic lumbar spine surgery in the porcine model.
Each point represents the total surgical time for a single case. The downward trend demonstrates improved efficiency with increasing surgical experience.