[Are There Correlations Between Disc Degeneration and the Appearance of Lumbar Disc Herniations?]

Retracted article: The mechanism of α2-macroglobulin against oxidative stress and promoting cell proliferation in intervertebral disc degeneration

Hui Liang and Yuan Wang. The mechanism of α2-macroglobulin against oxidative stress and promoting cell proliferation in intervertebral disc degeneration. Bioengineered. 2021 Nov. doi: 10.1080/21655979.2021.2011638.Since publication, significant concerns have been raised about the compliance with ethical policies for human research and the integrity of the data reported in the article.When approached for an explanation, the authors provided some original data but were not able to provide all the necessary supporting information. As verifying the validity of published work is core to the scholarly record's integrity, we are retracting the article. All authors listed in this publication have been informed.We have been informed in our decision-making by our editorial policies and the COPE guidelines.The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as 'Retracted.'

Early Clinical Efficacy of Endo-TLIF in the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to compare the early clinical efficacy of endoscopy-assisted transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (Endo-TLIF) and traditional Open-TLIF in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation and lumbar instability.

METHODS

Forty-six patients with lumbar disc herniation and lumbar instability admitted to the hospital were retrospectively studied from October 11, 2018 to October 11, 2020. Patients (including 17 males and 29 females) were randomly divided into Endo-TLIF and Open-TLIF groups according to the different surgical treatment. Parameters such as intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and intraoperative fluoroscopy time during the surgery as well as preoperative and postoperative lumbar lordosis angle and lumbar clearance height and related complications were recorded in detail.

RESULTS

Endo-TLIF significantly reduced intraoperative blood loss and bleeding volume compared with traditional Open-TLIF. The incision length in the Endo-TLIF group was shorter than in the Open-TLIF group and the intraoperative fluoroscopy time was also shorter than in the Open-TLIF group. The bed rest time and hospital discharge time were shortened in Endo-TLIF surgery compared with traditional Open-TLIF surgery. The creatine kinase (CK) values of the Endo-TLIF group were lower than that of the Open-TLIF group on the 1st and 3rd day after operation. Although computed tomography images of the lumbar lordosis angle did not show a significant difference between the Endo-TLIF group (43.97 ± 8.91°) and Open-TLIF group (49.08 ± 9.42°), the visual analogue scale score and Oswestry dysfunction index of lower back pain in the Endo-TLIF group were significantly lower than in the Open-TLIF group at 1 month and half a year after surgery. Complications in the Endo-TLIF group, such as lower limb neurological dysfunction and diseases of the respiratory or urinary system, effectively improved compared with the Open-TLIF group.

CONCLUSION

Endo-TLIF appears to be a safer and more effective option for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation and lumbar instability, with a shorter recovery time, less trauma, less bleeding, no need for postoperative drainage, and less iatrogenic injury.