The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel surgical technique using ISOVUE-300M contrast dye for intraoperative visualization of discectomy progress and to test the value of this technique by comparing outcomes of two patient cohorts. The investigators hypothesize that the standard TLIF technique results in a surprisingly low percentage of effective disc preparation, even when performed by an experienced TLIF surgeon. Secondly, the investigators hypothesize that by using intraoperative visual feedback to guide a second discectomy pass that the extent of disc space preparation can be substantially improved compared to patients where visual feedback is not available. Lastly, the investigators aim to conduct a clinical outcomes analysis evaluating radiographic and complication outcomes. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this prospective study is the first to evaluate differences in disc space preparation using a novel contrast-based technique while also providing clinical outcomes.
