T. Tullberg et al., GADOLINIUM-ENHANCED MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING OF 36 PATIENTS ONE-YEAR AFTER LUMBAR DISC RESECTION, Spine (Philadelphia, Pa. 1976), 19(2), 1994, pp. 176-182
A prospective study of 36 patients with radicular leg pain and lumbar
herniation who underwent single-level disc resection is presented. Cli
nical follow-up was combined with a gadolinium-DPTA MRI examination, 1
year after surgery. Disc herniation was still present in eight patien
ts and four of these did not have any significant radicular pain. Anot
her 15 patients had a small protrusion at the site of the former herni
ation. Twenty-three patients showed evidence of scar tissue. The nerve
root was displaced in 12 patients and was thickened in 16 patients, r
espectively. Clinically, 19 patients recovered from leg pain, 14 patie
nts improved, and 3 patients remained unchanged compared with preopera
tive symptoms. There was no consistent correlation between postoperati
ve back pain or radicular leg pain and MR findings.