Current status of collagenase treatment for lumbar intervertebral herniation

 1, 1981 Sussman, Harvard University (1) Intradiscal injection of collagenase for lumbar disc herniation. Because they injected collagenase into the disc, and the prolapsed, free nucleus pulposus was in the epidural where it failed to meet the collagenase drug, it was in the wrong place! The “effect” is certainly not good! And intra-disc injection of collagenase early 1-10 days (2) aggravate the further protrusion of the disc herniation, 25% of the patients symptoms worsen! So until now American doctors have not been able to get up collagenase nucleolysis. Xu Guozeng2, Department of Interventional Medicine, Panyu District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China, 1987, Zhu Kewen (3) proposed: collagenase Extracorporeal injection method for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Yang Shuhua (4) believed that inaccurate location of extra-disc and epidural injection was an important reason for the efficacy. Extracorporeal injection was popular in China for a while.3 In 1996, Hu Yougu (5), and in 1999, Tang Tianyi, Hu Yougu, and Dang Kengchao (6) concluded that the mechanism of extracorporeal injection of collagenase was unclear and serious complications had occurred, which should be highly guarded and should not be advocated. Comments: (a) There is a consensus on the disadvantages of intradiscal injection. (2) The mechanism of extra-disc is unclear as follows: how to dissolve the contained protrusions? Can the non-inclusive type be dissolved even if the injection is inaccurate? How much can be dissolved by accurate injection? How to ensure safety without CT guidance, etc. It is common for experts to suggest that it is enough for patients to improve their symptoms and not to care about the change of protrusions, so why do you perform invasive treatment or surgery? Have you not chosen the wrong indications? What is the mechanism of treatment you use? Wouldn’t the patient be better off with conservative treatment? (c) Because of the above defects and the recommendations of experts such as Hu Yougu. The scientific development of collagenase injection for lumbar disc herniation has been significantly affected by the failure of many orthopedic departments in large hospitals to carry out this technique.4 In 2001, Xu Guozeng (7) proposed the correct method of collagenase injection within and on the surface of the herniated disc for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Through the practice of hundreds of cases for more than ten years, Xu Guozeng advocates the concept of conservative treatment for the contained type and CT intervention for the non-contained type, hoping to put an end to the era of chaotic treatment of lumbar disc herniation together with the knowledgeable people.