Facet syndrome. Minimally invasive surgical treatment. Clinical case with a literature review

Background: Degenerative pathology of the facet joints of the lumbar spine remains a significant medical and social problem due to persistent pain syndrome, high incidence and disability rate. Clinical case description: A patient complaining of pain and discomfort in the lumbosacral spine on the right, arising in the upright position, intensifying with bending and flexion-extension of the trunk, and periodically spreading to the right gluteal region and along the posterior surface of the thigh, was admitted to the neurosurgical department of the Irkutsk Scientific Center of Surgery and Traumatology. A surgical treatment was performed in the form of dereception of the LII-LIII, LIII-LIV, LIV-LV arch-process joints. In the postoperative period, the patient noted a decrease in the intensity of pain in the lumbosacral spine to 3 points by a visual analog scale and was discharged from the department on the 5th day after the surgery in a satisfactory condition. Conclusion: Facet joint pathologies represent a most common nosological form of the degenerative-dystrophic process (spondyloarthrosis) and a potential source of pain with the formation of instability of the spinal motion segment and chronic pain syndrome. The complex anatomical and topographic relationships between the facet joints, intervertebral discs, and radicular nerves force clinicians to pay attention to the pathology of facet syndrome. Understanding the morphological, clinical, and radiological features of the course of the facet joint degeneration makes it possible to increase the diagnostic capabilities for detecting facet syndrome of the lumbar spine and effectively apply transcutaneous surgical technologies for the treatment of chronic pain syndromes.