Lumbosacral scoliotic list by lumbar disc herniation

Study Design. A prospective study of 45 patients with lumbar disc herniatio n and scoliotic list who had undergone conventional open discectomy. Objectives. To determine the association between the location of the disc h erniation and the direction of sciatic scoliotic list and to clarify the me chanism of sciatic scoliosis. Summary of Background Data. The association between the scoliotic list and lumbar disc herniation is well known. However,there have been few studies r egarding the direction of scoliotic list and the location of the disc herni ation observed during surgery. Methods. The direction of scoliotic list, the preoperative and postoperativ e Cobb's angle, and the displacement of the first lumbar vertebra from the center sacral line were measured. The location, side, and degree of disc he rniation were observed during surgery. Results. There was no statistically significant association observed betwee n the location or degree of nerve root compression and the direction or deg ree of sciatic scoliosis. Moreover, there was no statistically significant association observed between the location or degree of nerve root compressi on and the displacement of the first lumbar spine from the center sacral li ne. However, there was a significant association between the side of the di sc herniation and the direction of sciatic scoliosis. Most of the sciatic s coliotic list disappeared after surgical decompression. Conclusion. The direction of sciatic scoliosis was not observed to be assoc iated with the location of nerve root compression, although it was related to the side of disc herniation.