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In Degenerative Spondylolisthesis, Unilateral Laminotomy for Bilateral Decompression Leads to Less Reoperations at 5 Years When Compared to Posterior Decompression With Instrumented Fusion

Patients diagnosed with  degenerative spondylolisthesis patients (DS) and symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) have had standard surgical recommendations of fusion in combination with decompression since the 1990’s.   Since the early 1990’s, surgical techniques have become less invasive.  What traditionally required wide pedicle to pedicle wide laminectomies with partial facetectomies for central stenosis can now be […]

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The Norwegian Cervical Arthroplasty Trial (NORCAT): 2-year clinical outcome after single-level cervical arthroplasty versus fusion-a prospective, single-blinded, randomized, controlled multicenter study.

This investigation by Sundseth et al presents a prospective randomized study comparing cervical anterior discectomy and fusion (using interbody cage) versus cervical disc arthroplasty in a Norwegian population. Outcomes were determined at 2 years, which is a relatively short time period. Outcome measures included the Neck Disability Index (NDI), SF36, and EuroQol-5D-3L. Overall, this multicenter […]

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Minimum 25-year outcome and functional assessment of lumbar discectomy.

This paper is a retrospective review on 348 consecutive patients who had lumbar discectomy surgery between 1973 and 1979 by the orthopedic department of Federico II Hospital in Naples, Italy.   Seven different surgeons participated in the surgical treatments.   Two Hundred One (201)  patients agreed to participate in follow-up,  either by mail or by an in […]

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Percutaneous lumbar laser disc decompression: an update of current evidence.

This systematic review by Singh et al (2013) provides an up to date review of the effectiveness of percutaneous lumbar laser discectomy. The acceptance of minimally invasive spine surgery continues to grow from both a demand by patients and amongst surgeons. The goals of having smaller incisions, limiting soft tissue trauma, shorter operating times and […]

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Iliac crest bone graft harvest donor site morbidity. A statistical evaluation.

This paper published in 1995 is a case series of 261 patients that have had either posterior or anterior iliac crest harvesting for spinal fusion. With current utilization of bone graft substitutes including  bone marrow aspiration and BMP,    many of the more recently trained spine surgeons may not have had the experience of dealing with complications and […]

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