Increased Surgical Experience in Microendoscopic Spinal Surgery Can Reduce Development of Postoperative Spinal Epidural Hematoma and Improve the Clinical Outcomes.

No reports have previously evaluated the association between surgical technique and the incidence of postoperative spinal epidural hematoma (PSEH) following microendoscopic decompression surgery (MED). This study aimed to evaluate the association between the development of radiographic PSEH (rPSEH) following MED and microendoscopic surgical experience and postoperative clinical outcomes related to the quality of life (QoL). This retrospective cohort study included 3922 patients who had undergone MED performed by a single surgeon. rPSEH was defined as a hematoma that was identified via routine magnetic resonance images performed 3−4 days postoperatively. Patients were divided into rPSEH and control groups to identify the risk factor of rPSEH and assess clinical outcomes. In the multivariate analysis, age (p = 0.002), surgical experience (p = 0.003), surgical time (p = 0.038), multilevel decompression (p < 0.001), and diagnosis (p = 0.004) were identified as independent variables associated with rPSEH. Moreover, in mixed-effect models, the rPSEH group showed less improvement in Oswestry Disability Index (p = 0.014) than the control group. In conclusion, the surgical experience was identified as a risk factor for rPSEH that could lead to poor QoL. The sharing of microendoscopic surgical techniques among surgeons may reduce rPSEH incidence and improve patients' QoL.

Postoperative Physical Therapy Program Focused on Low Back Pain Can Improve Treatment Satisfaction after Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression.

Patient satisfaction is crucial in pay-for-performance initiatives. To achieve further improvement in satisfaction, modifiable factors should be identified according to the surgery type. Using a prospective cohort, we compared the overall treatment satisfaction after microendoscopic lumbar decompression between patients treated postoperatively with a conventional physical therapy (PT) program (control; n = 100) and those treated with a PT program focused on low back pain (LBP) improvement (test; n = 100). Both programs included 40 min outpatient sessions, once per week for 3 months postoperatively. Adequate compliance was achieved in 92 and 84 patients in the control and test cohorts, respectively. There were no significant differences in background factors; however, the patient-reported pain score at 3 months postoperatively was significantly better, and treatment satisfaction was significantly higher in the test than in the control cohort (-0.02 ± 0.02 vs. -0.03 ± 0.03, p = 0.029; 70.2% vs. 55.4%, p = 0.045, respectively). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, patients treated with the LBP program tended to be more satisfied than those treated with the conventional program, independent of age, sex, and diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio = 2.34, p = 0.012). Postoperative management with the LBP program could reduce pain more effectively and aid spine surgeons in achieving higher overall satisfaction after minimally invasive lumbar decompression, without additional pharmacological therapy.

Characteristics and Short-Term Surgical Outcomes of Patients with Recurrent Lumbar Disc Herniation after Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression.

Background and Objectives: Although percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) is one of the common treatment methods for patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH), the recurrence of LDH after PLDD is estimated at 4-5%. This study compares the preoperative clinical data and clinical outcomes of patients who underwent primary microendoscopic discectomy (MED) or MED following PLDD. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 2678 patients who underwent MED for LDH. The PLDD group included patients with previous PLDD history at the same level of LDH, and a matched control group was created using propensity score matching for age, sex, and body mass index. Preoperative data, preoperative radiographic findings, and surgical data of the groups were compared. To compare postoperative changes in clinical scores between the groups, a mixed-effect model was used. Results: As a result, 42 patients (1.6%) had previously undergone PLDD, and a control group with 42 patients were created. The disc degeneration severity was not significantly different between the groups. However, Modic changes were more frequent in the PLDD group than in the matched control group (p = 0.028). There were no significant differences in dural adhesion rate or surgery-related complications including dural injury, length of stay, and recurrence rate of LDH after surgery. In addition, the improvement of clinical scores did not significantly differ between the two groups (p = 0.112, 0.913, respectively). Conclusions: We concluded that patients with recurrent LDH after PLDD have advanced endplate degeneration, which may reflect endplate injury from a previous PLDD. However, a previous history of PLDD does not have a negative impact on the clinical result of MED.

The short-term outcomes of minimally invasive decompression surgery in patients with lumbar ossification or calcification of the ligamentum flavum.

OBJECTIVE: Although minimally invasive endoscopic surgery techniques are established standard treatment choices for various degenerative conditions of the lumbar spine, the surgical indications of such techniques for specific cases, such as segments with ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) or calcification of the ligamentum flavum (CLF), remain under investigation. Therefore, the authors aimed to demonstrate the short-term outcomes of minimally invasive endoscopic surgery in patients with degenerative lumbar disease with CLF or OLF. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study including consecutive patients who underwent microendoscopic posterior decompression at the authors' institution, where the presence of OLF and CLF did not influence the surgical indication. Fifty-nine patients with OLF and 39 patients with CLF on preoperative CT were identified from the database. Subsequently, two matched control groups (one each matched to the OLF and CLF groups) were created using propensity scores to adjust for age, sex, preoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and Oswestry Disability Index, and diagnosis. The background, surgical outcomes, and changes in clinical scores were compared between the matched groups. If there was a significant difference in the improvement of clinical scores, a multivariate linear regression model was applied. RESULTS: On performing univariate analysis, patients with OLF were found to have a higher body mass index (Mann-Whitney U-test, p = 0.001), higher incidence of preoperative motor weakness (chi-square test, p = 0.019), longer operative time (Mann-Whitney U-test, p < 0.001), and lower improvement in the JOA score (mixed-effects model, p = 0.023) than the matched controls. On performing multivariate analysis, the presence of OLF was identified as an independent variable associated with a poor recovery rate based on the JOA score (multivariate linear regression, p < 0.001). In contrast, there were no significant differences between patients with CLF and their matched controls in terms of preoperative and surgical data and postoperative improvements in clinical scores. CONCLUSIONS: Although the perioperative surgical outcomes, including the surgical complications, and the in-hospital period did not significantly differ, the short-term improvement in the JOA score was significantly lower in patients with degenerative lumbar disease accompanied by OLF than in the patients from the matched control group. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the short-term improvement in clinical scores and perioperative outcomes between patients with CLF and their matched control group. Thus, the surgical indications of minimally invasive posterior decompression for patients with CLF can be the same as those for patients without CLF; however, the indications for patients with OLF should be further investigated in future studies, including the other surgical methods.

Tandem keyhole foraminotomy in the treatment of cervical radiculopathy: retrospective review of 35 cases.

BACKGROUND: There has been no report regarding the results of two-level keyhole foraminotomy. The purpose of this study was to detail clinical outcomes following consecutive two-level cervical foraminotomy (tandem keyhole foraminotomy (TKF)) in patients with radiculopathy. METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective review of 35 cases involving patients treated by a single surgeon using TKF. Clinical symptoms, data of physical examinations, pathology and clinical outcomes were detailed and discussed about this surgical method. RESULTS: Patients consisted of cervical disc herniation (CDH) (19/35), cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) (13/35), and cervical spondylotic amyotrophy (CSA) (3/35). TKF was performed from C3 to C5 in 2 patients (6%), from C4 to C6 in 7 patients (20%), from C5 to C7 in 23 patients (66%), and from C6 to T1 in 3 patients (8%). The mean operative duration was 99.2 min (range, 72 to 168 min). The mean estimated blood loss was 55.8 g (range, 0 to 200 g). Radicular pain was relieved within 3 months in 88% (29/32) and in 97% (31/32) at final follow-up. Resolution of muscle weakness was recognized within 6 months after operation in all CSA cases. Sixty-six percent of patients showed a greater than 20% deficit in grip weakness on the affected side compared with the normal side. After pain was relieved, grip strength improved by more than 15%. CONCLUSIONS: TKF is a safe and highly effective procedure for patients with cervical radiculopathy and does not require invasive preoperative examinations. Further investigation is required to determine the effects of consecutive facetectomy.

Comparison of modified Das De procedure with Du Vries procedure for traumatic peroneal tendon dislocation.

BACKGROUND: For peroneal tendon dislocation, various surgical procedures have been described. Das De et al. reported good clinical results using retinaculum repair. However, their reports are limited to case series. We have simplified the Das De procedure since 1996. The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical outcomes of our modified Das De procedure (MD) and compare these clinical outcomes to those of the Du Vries procedure (DV) that was performed in our hospital until 1996. PATIENTS: From 1996 to 2007, 19 patients were treated by MD and from 1988 to 1996, 15 patients were treated by DV. RESULTS: A mean preoperative Ankle-Hindfoot Scale was 78.4 points (range: 65-84) in the MD group and 77.2 points (range: 67-87) in the DV group. A mean postoperative Ankle-Hindfoot Scale was 93.4 points in the MD group and 89.4 points in the DV group. Two patients (13.3%) in the DV group suffered postoperative peroneal tendon redislocation. In the MD group, there was no postoperative peroneal tendon redislocation or complication related to skin incision. In athletes, 80.0% in the MD group and 54.5% in the DV group were able to return to their previous sports. The mean duration to return to sports was 2.9 months in the MD group and 3.9 months in the DV group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: MD provided similar or slightly better clinical outcomes with less complication as compared to DV. For athletes, the rate of return to sports was higher and the duration to return to sports was significantly shorter in the MD group.

Bilateral osteochondritis dissecans of the lateral femoral condyle following bilateral total removal of lateral discoid meniscus: a case report.

Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the lateral femoral condyle sometimes occurs with a discoid lateral meniscus. Recently, it was reported that OCD of the lateral femoral condyle occurred after total removal of the lateral meniscus. We report the case of a 12-year-old boy with bilateral OCD of the lateral femoral condyle following bilateral total removal for discoid lateral meniscus. Valgus deviation of the knee after total removal and increased sporting activity might have concentrated excessive stress on the lateral condyles in the standing position. As a result, bilateral OCD might have occurred. Drilling of the areas of OCD on the bilateral lateral femoral condyles was done and the patient wore inner wedge arch supports postoperatively. After 2 years, neither knee pain nor arthrosis has occurred so far, but long-term follow-up of this patient is considered to be necessary.