The 21st century is an era of rapid development of minimally invasive surgery. With the development of endoscopic technology and the innovation of surgical instruments, minimally invasive surgical techniques such as thoracoscopy and laparoscopy have been applied to the field of spine surgery, gradually forming minimally invasive spine surgery, which has become a new direction of spine surgery development. In recent years, the level of minimally invasive spine surgery technology has rapidly improved, and the treatment of diseases has been extended to almost all spine surgical diseases. The rapid development of minimally invasive spine surgery has helped clinical orthopedic surgeons to solve patients’ pain with less trauma and less cost. However, its clinical follow-up is not long, and more clinical studies and evidence are needed. Like traditional open surgery, it also has complications and requires higher equipment and higher technical requirements for the surgeon, requiring a longer learning curve. Therefore, the indications for surgery should be strictly grasped and the long-term results should be further followed up. The indications for intervertebral foraminotomy are as follows: 1. Indications: simple disc herniation with sciatic nerve pain that cannot be relieved by conservative treatment; positive signs of spinal nerve compression, such as straight leg raising test and toe extension and flexion test; clinical symptoms and signs consistent with CT, MRI and other imaging diagnoses; no spinal canal or lateral saphenous fossa stenosis, and patients who do not want to accept traditional surgical methods. 2. Contraindications: central protrusion; protrusion with calcification; recurrence after surgical removal (experienced surgeons may also try); clinical symptoms and signs not consistent with imaging; bulging disc; intolerance of surgery.