title: Lumbar disc excision in children and adolescents.
abstract: METHODS
  The authors examined a case series of patients under the age of 18 years treated for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate postoperative and long-term results of surgery in patients younger than 18 years.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  There are only a few series, with controversial results, available on the surgical treatment of disc herniation in growing patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 1975 and 1991, a consecutive series of 129 patients 9-18 years of age (average age, 16.2 years) underwent surgery for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation. Low back pain associated with leg pain was the main clinical symptom in 106 subjects (82%), back pain in 17 (13%), and leg pain in 6 (5%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Short-term results were excellent or good for 123 cases (95%), with complete pain relief in 97 (75%) and moderate but incomplete relief in 26 (20%). A total of 98 (76%) long-term responses obtained at a mean follow-up of 12.4 years revealed excellent outcomes in 40% of the cases, good in 47%, and poor in 13%. Ten patients (10%) underwent reintervention after 9 years on average (2 fusions and 8 re-explorations for herniated disc).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results have confirmed a tendency for outcomes to deteriorate between the short-term and long-term follow-up in young patients treated by discectomy: this tendency and the rate of reintervention (10%) confirmed the need for long-term follow-up of children and adolescents treated for disc herniation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Bologna, Italy. parisini.p@tiscalinet.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parisini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Silvestre
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Greggi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miglietta
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paderni
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D017586:Diskectomy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D012585:Sciatica / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome