THE RESULTS OF OPERATIONS ON THE LUMBAR SPINE IN PATIENTS WHO HAVE DIABETES-MELLITUS

The results for sixty-two patients who had had a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and lumbar disc disease or spinal stenosis and had been mana ged with a posterior decompressive procedure were compared, in a retro spective study, with those for sixty-two age and sex-matched non-diabe tic (control) patients who had had similar operative procedures. Forty -four of the sixty-two diabetic patients and fifty-five of the non-dia betic patients were available for long-term follow-up (mean, five and seven years, respectively). Among the diabetic patients, there were hi gh rates of postoperative infection and prolonged hospitalization comp ared with the rates for the control group. The long-term result was ex cellent or good for seventeen (39 per cent) of the forty-four patients who had diabetes mellitus and for fifty-two (95 per cent) of the fift y-five non-diabetic patients. The poor results in the diabetic patient s may have been related to coexisting diabetic neuropathy, to the asso ciated microvascular disease that affects the spinal nerve roots in di abetic patients, or to the failure of the nerve roots of these patient s to recover after decompressive procedures.