DIAGNOSTICS OF RECURRENT VERTEBRAL DISC P ROLAPSE BY MR

Persisting low back pain after lumbar discectomy may have many reasons . Reoperation is likely to be successful if a recurrent disc prolapse is found. The sensitivity and validity of diagnostic tools used cannot as yet be considered to be optimal. For this reason in our study 130 patients who were supposed to have a recurrent disc herniation underwe nt MRI with and without application of Gadolinium DTPA. In all patient s we saw enhancement in the spinal canal. Sensitivity of MRI as verifi ed by reoperation was > 90 %. Hence, we can recommend this diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of recurrent disc herniation.