INTRODUCTION
Recurrent lumbar disc herniation is defined as the recurrence of a hernia at the same level and
on the same side, which has been previously applied discectomy. [1,2] Frequency ratio is
between 3%-18% in the literature. [3-5] Obesity, young age, male gender, smoking, and
environmental conditions are cited as the cause of the disease. [2,6] Symptomatic RLDH
causes symptoms before the first surgery. Therefore, we are faced with a significant problem.
[3,7] In the literature, the clinical results of RLDH's surgery are unusual. [8] It is not a
substantial standardization regarding operation and it is controversial which technique will be
applied. [1] Some authors argue that only laminectomy and discectomy will be sufficient in
patients with symptomatic RLDH in cases where spinal instability is absent, while others say
that it should be added in fusion with discectomy based on various factors [3,9,10]. In spite of
this, the superiority of each other in the two methods is not proven. Spinal stabilization has
been shown to reduce pain in the early period, but due to increased stress on the adjacent
segment, causes a new pain source and instability [11-14]. Dynamic systems began to develop
to eliminate these fusion-related problems. In the prospective studies of dynamic shortsegment stabilization, the adjacent segment is less stressed, and therefore no degeneration
occurs in the adjacent segment and results in better clinical results. Also, cadaveric studies
support this result. [15-18]
This study aimed to compare the clinical results of three different surgical treatment of
symptomatic RLHD in the form of the only discectomy, discectomy and fusion, and
discectomy and dynamic stabilization and to demonstrate the superiority of each other.