Introduction:

Lumbar stenosis has become a common disease. Controversies exist regarding fusion surgery.

Material and methods:

The patients were divided into groups per the method of fusion received: the posterolateral fusion group (group P) and the intervertebral fusion group (group I). The patients were further divided into groups based on the number of fusion segments: the 2-segment group (P2 and I2), the 3-segment group (P3 and I3), and the 4-segment group (P4 and I4). The operative time, intraoperative blood loss, blood transfusion volume, and postoperative drainage volume were summarized. In particular, wound healing appearance and management were observed.

Results:

The operation time and blood transfusion volume of the P2 and P3 groups were significantly less than those of the I2 and I3 groups (p < 0.05). The postoperative drainage volume of group I4 was less than that of group P4 (p < 0.05). Postoperative numeric rating scale (NRS) scores of P2 and P3 groups were lower than those of I2 and I3 groups (p < 0.05), while the NRS scores of P4 group were higher than those of I4 group (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

Posterolateral and intervertebral fusion techniques can be used in the surgical treatment of elderly patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. The posterolateral fusion method should be used when three or fewer segments require surgery. The intervertebral fusion method should be used when four segments require surgery.