PRECISE AND LIMITED DECOMPRESSION FOR LUMBAR SPINAL STENOSIS

Fifty-eight consecutive patients with lumbosacral nerve root entrapmen t due to spinal stenosis were treated with modified microsurgical deco mpression. Only the clinically relevant sides and levels were decompre ssed while the spinous processes, the interspinous ligaments, the medi al portion of ligamentum flavum and the functionally important parts o f the facet joints were preserved. The reviewers rated recovery as goo d or excellent in 71% of patients while patient self-assessment indica ted 76% good or excellent outcome. These data suggest that microsurgic al decompression of spondylo-arthritic changes can effectively relieve the signs and symptoms of nerve root compression and that with carefu l evaluation of all available data the number of nerve roots requiring decomperession is often fewer than what is suggested by diagnositic i mages alone.