LUMBAR SPINAL STENOSIS AND ITS SURGICAL-T REATMENT

Today lumbar spinal stenosis can stand on its own as a clinical entity that can be radiologically and clinically divided into central and la teral stenosis. Foraminal stenosis is a special form of the latter. Du ring the period 1990-1991 we operated on 148 patients for spinal steno sis. Using a standardized questionnaire, 109 patients were evaluated o n their pain and gait status 3 years after the operation. Patients wit h previously known spondylolisthesis or degenerative instability were excluded from the study. Forty-four out of 109 patients were free of p ain, while significant reduction of pain was noted in 35/109 patients. ln 19 patients,the pain remained the same or worsened postoperatively . Seventy-four out of the 109 patients had no gait disturbances, where as only 14/109 worsened postoperatively. Six patients could walk with support and seven patients were unable to walk because of other distur bances. Because of unclear responses, the status of the remaining pati ents could not be completely evaluated in either group.