ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In the elderly patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis, bilateral nerve root canal stenosis commonly shows only one side of symptoms. There is still controversy about whether or not decompression is needed on the side without symptoms or with less symptoms and how to operate. OBJECTIVE: To explore the safety and efficacy of robot-assisted unilateral-decompression using minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) technique by investigating a series of cases with the radiographic bilateral lumbar canal stenosis presenting with unilateral symptoms and by comparing clinical decompression effect and imaging changes before and after operation. METHODS: Cases with radiographic bilateral lumbar canal stenosis presenting with unilateral symptoms subjected to unilateral decompression on the affected side, interbody fusion and bilateral fixation after robot-assisted MIS-TLIF in the same treatment group were retrospectively analyzed. Operation time, intraoperative blood loss and complications were recorded. The vertebral canal cross-sectional area, intervertebral foramen height, intervertebral space height, and lumbar lordosis angle were examined before and after surgery. Visual analogue scale scores for low back pain and leg pain were assessed before and after surgery. Oswestry disability index was used to assess lumbar function before and after surgery. Macnab criteria were used to evaluate the efficacy at the final follow-up after surgery. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Operation time was 110-235 minutes, averagely 169.4 minutes. Intraoperative blood loss was 70-180 mL, averagely 112.4 mL. (2) After 3-8 months of follow-up, the visual analogue scale scores of low back pain and lower extremity pain 1 month after surgery and in final follow-up were significantly lower than those before operation (both P 0.05). (6) It is concluded that robot-assisted unilateral-decompression MIS-TLIF obtained satisfactory effect in bilateral lumbar canal stenosis patients presenting with unilateral symptoms.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Lumbar disc herniation is mostly accompanied by ipsilateral compression symptoms caused by the pressure of herniated portion on the ipsilateral nerve root. Rare cases are reported to present with contralateral compression symptoms. So there is currently no specific classification and nomenclature for this type of lumbar disc herniation, which is referred to as lumbar disc herniation with contralateral symptoms in this article. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of endoscopic lumbar nucleus pulposus removal for unilateral versus bilateral decompression in patients with lumbar disc herniation presenting with contralateral symptoms. METHODS: Forty patients with contralateral symptomatic lumbar disc herniation who underwent endoscopic lumbar nucleus pulposus surgery from January 2015 to December 2018 were enrolled in enrolled for retrospective analysis. According to the different decompression methods, the patients were randomly divided into an ipsilateral decompression group (n=20) and a bilateral decompression group (n=20). The visual analogue scale (VAS) and Japanese Orthopedics Association (JOA) scores of the lumbar and lower extremities before and at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery were recorded. Clinical efficacy was evaluated by the modified Macnab standard at 12 months after surgery. Dynamic X-rays of the lumbar spine were used to evaluate lumbar stability. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: All the 40 patients were followed up for 12-20 months, with an average of 16 months. There were no complications such as dural sac tear and intervertebral space infection in the two groups. The pain in the lower back and lower extremities were significantly relieved in both groups. The postoperative JOA score was significantly higher than that before surgery; and the postoperative VAS scores of the waist and lower extremities were significantly lower than those before surgery (P < 0.05). The VAS and JOA scores in the bilateral decompression group were significantly superior to those in the unilateral decompression group (P < 0.05). The improved Macnab evaluation at 12 months after surgery showed that the excellent and good rate was 70% in the unilateral decompression group, and 95% in the bilateral decompression group, with significant difference between two groups (P < 0.05). Lumbar spine dynamic X-rays at 12 months after surgery showed no lumbar instability or slippage in the two groups. For patients with lumbar disc herniation presenting with contralateral symptoms who underwent percutaneous transforaminal lumbar nucleus pulposus removal, pain symptoms eased off after treatment with two decompression methods, but the bilateral decompression had better postoperative recovery compared with the unilateral decompression.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Lumbar spinal stenosis is conventionally treated with surgical decompression. However, bilateral decompression and laminectomy is more invasive and may not be necessary for lumbar stenosis patients with unilateral radiculopathy. We aimed to report the outcomes of unilateral laminectomy and bilateral pedicle screw fixation with fusion for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and unilateral radiculopathy. METHODS: Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis with unilateral lower extremity radiculopathy who received limited unilateral decompression and bilateral pedicle screw fixation were included and evaluated using visual analog scale (VAS) pain and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores preoperatively and at follow-up visits. Ligamentum flavum thickness of the involved segments was measured on axial magnetic resonance images. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were included. The mean preoperative VAS score was 6.6+/-1.6 and 4.6+/-3.1 for leg and back pain, respectively. Ligamentum flavum thickness was comparable between the symptomatic and asymptomatic side (p=0.554). The mean follow-up duration was 29.2 months. The pain in the symptomatic side lower extremity (VAS score, 1.32+/-1.2) and the back (VAS score, 1.75+/-1.73) significantly improved (p=0.000 vs. baseline for both). The ODI improved significantly postoperatively (6.60+/-6.5; p=0.000 vs. baseline). Significant improvement in VAS pain and ODI scores were observed in patients receiving single or multi-segment decompression fusion with fixation (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Limited laminectomy and unilateral spinal decompression followed by bilateral pedicle screw fixation with fusion achieves satisfactory outcomes in patients with spinal stenosis and unilateral radiculopathy. This procedure is less damaging to structures that are important for maintaining posterior stability of the spine.