| Purpose | Decompress nerve | Decompress nerve |
| Anaesthesia | Local anaesthesia | General anaesthesia |
| Patient status | Awake during surgery | Under anaesthesia |
| Incision | 8mm | 8mm |
| Hospital stays | 24 hours | 24 hours |
| Approach | Laterally directly in disc | Posteriorly through interlaminar area |
| Postoperative | No sedation | Some sedation because of GA |
| Preserves patient anatomy- minimal damage | Needs removal of bone and ligaments |
