Introduction Radiculopathy due to lumbar disc prolapse is the most common diagnosis in spinal surgery. Most patients heal after a 6–8 weeks medical treatment; 10–15 % still complaining pain, undergo microsurgery. Intraforaminal disc prolapse is a particular kind of hernia as for intensity of pain and for anatomical features. The conventional (ipsilateral) approaches for its removal require a partial or complete resection of facet joint, intertransverse ligament cutting or disruption of the pars interarticularis, risking chronic low back pain and longterm instability. Recently we described a new minimally-invasive technique [1], simple to perform and carried out by contralateral side (CL), which allows a wide exposure of intervertebral foramen space and nerve root, even through a minimal spinous-laminar reduction, and to successfully remove the disc herniation. More recently we performed a new contralateral approach in 5 patients, carried out by contralateral side and upper lumbar level (CLup). All patients were post-operatively pain free. Even if this two new approaches seem to be very useful for the patient, in terms of pain removal and spine stability, the choosing of the best surgical approach is today heuristic and it is difficult to describe the new accesses created, even using intra-operative live images (Fig. 1). A clear description of the surgical access is fundamental to train residents and to diffuse the technique in other centres. Purpose The purpose of this work is: – to present and describe the two new surgical approaches above mentioned with short video clips and imaging – to detail a specific 3D pathoanatomy of patients suffering from radiculopathy due to intraforaminal disc prolapse, through processing of preoperative CT images – to compare the CL approach with the new variant CL-up