Less Invasive Decompressive Laminectomy and One-Level Lumbar Fusion in the Setting of Interspinous Fixation: A Retrospective Analysis of 15 Patients

. 2021 Sep 1;13(9):e17653.


doi: 10.7759/cureus.17653.


eCollection 2021 Sep.

Affiliations

Item in Clipboard

Hamidreza Aliabadi et al.


Cureus.


.

Abstract

Lumbar decompressive laminectomy for spinal stenosis can be performed using a less-invasive, unilateral approach with subperiosteal dissection and decompression by undermining the lamina from the ipsilateral to the contralateral side. A unilateral approach to bilateral decompression can be supplemented with interspinous instrumentation and facet fusion, a combined procedure that has not been studied before. The less-invasive technique appears to be as effective for lumbar stenosis as the traditional lumbar laminectomy. It also causes less blood loss and reduced operating time, and so may benefit patients who are elderly, medically frail, or with multiple comorbidities. Fifteen patients (eight females, seven males) underwent outpatient surgery by the author (HA) using this technique. These patients complained of progressive lower back pain associated with radicular pain exacerbated by prolonged standing or walking with improvement in flexed position of the lumbar spine with decreased walking distance ability. A one-level less-invasive lumbar laminectomy and foraminotomy with facet fusion and interspinous fixation were performed for spinal stenosis in conjunction with a Grade I degenerative spondylolisthesis. These patients all had a single-level facet fusion with bone graft material and local autograft. The approximate surgical time for each patient was between 50 and 80 minutes. The visual analog scale for pain (VAS) score decreased significantly after surgery; patients presented with preoperative VAS scores of 5-10/10 (mean 8.33/10). Postoperative VAS scores were 0-6/10 (mean 2/10), yielding a mean VAS improvement of 76% following surgery. Future analysis should be performed for evaluation of sustained VAS score, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF 36), and the Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (ZCQ).


Keywords:

decompressive laminectomy; interspinous fixation; laminectomy; minimally invasive.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures


Figure 1



Figure 1. Depiction of the unilateral approach for bilateral decompression.

Figure reproduced with permission from Kato, et al. [18].


Figure 2



Figure 2. Preoperative (a) and postoperative (b) radiographs showing decompression of the central canal after a unilateral laminectomy and bilateral decompression.

Figure reproduced with permission from Yaman et al. [16].


Figure 3



Figure 3. Mean VAS scores for back and leg pain (with range) for 15 patients.

VAS: Visual Analogue Scale

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