Spontaneous regression of extruded lumbar disc herniation: report of two illustrative case and review of the literature.

Although the first reported surgery for lumbar disc herniation was published many years ago, there still remains little agreement for the most effective treatment protocol for symptomatic cases. Many patients with extruded lumbar disc herniation require surgical intervention due to radiculopathy of lower extremities but some neurological symptoms of intervertebral disc herniation may frequently improve with conservative treatment. In this paper, two cases of spontaneous regression of extruded lumbar herniated discs are presented. The disc regressions of two patients were correlated with clinical improvement and documented with follow up MRI studies. Additionally the clinical course of lumbar disc herniation was discussed with mechanisms, features of MRI, immunohistological pathology and treatment options of past clinical studies.