ABSTRACT

Background:

The aim of this study is to evaluate the radiological and clinical data of patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS) who were treated by posterior decompression and fusion.

Materials and Methods:

30 patients (17 female, 13 male) were evaluated in this study, who were diagnosed with DLSS and underwent surgery between 1999 and 2005. The lumbar spinal canal was measured with CT scans of the surgical level, and one level above and one level below the operated level. All patients were evaluated with the Oswestry questionnaire and clinical examination scale (existence of back pain, leg pain, numbness, prickling sensation, motor deficiency and sensory deficiency). The preoperative and postoperative patient satisfaction was evaluated with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

Results:

The mean follow-up time was 4.3 ± 3.7 years. The preoperative spinal canal diameter was 12.4 ± 3.3 mm, whereas postoperatively it was 14.0 ± 2.8 mm. The postoperative clinical scale and Oswestry questionnaire were found to be significantly improved (p<0.05). The mean preoperative VAS satisfaction was 27.4 ± 13.6, and the mean postoperative VAS satisfaction increased to 56.3 ± 24.5. Significant negative correlations (Spearman Rank Correlation) were found between the VAS scores and Oswestry questionnaire scores (r=−0.65) and the VAS scores and the postoperative clinical scale (r=−0.63) (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

A statistically significant recovery was found for patients treated by posterior decompression and fusion who had degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS). The clinical finding score was related to the radiological data. Posterior decompression with instrumented fusion is an effective treatment for DLSS.