title: A less invasive surgical approach in the lumbar lateral recess stenosis: direct approach to the medial wall of the pedicle.
abstract: The lateral recess is one of the main compression sites in lumbar spinal canal stenosis. Lumbar nerve root is mainly entrapped by bony tissue in compression syndrome. The patient has a long history of back pain in conjunction with claudication symptoms. Besides laminotomy and facetectomy techniques, several specific surgical approaches to treat the lateral recess stenosis have been described. The surgical technique of bilateral lateral recess decompression via subarticular fenestrations used in this study is a less invasive technique, which enables to decompress the neural structures while preserving as much of the bony structures and ligamentum flavum as preferred. In 16 patients, we measured lateral recess heights with computerized tomography. The number of involved lumbar segments was one in 11 patients and two in 5 patients. The visual analogue scale (VAS) results were maintained before, 3 and 12 months after the operation. All patients benefited from the operations. Mean VAS scores were 7.0, 5.5, and 4.0, respectively. There were not any surgery-related complications. Mean follow-up period is 22.6 months. The surgical technique described and used in this study provides easy access to every zone of lateral recess and is safe and effective in treating the lumbar lateral recess stenosis syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Haydarpaşa Training Hospital, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colak
authors.forename: Kivanç
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Topuz
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kutlay
authors.forename: Serdar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simşek
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cetinkal
authors.forename: Mehmet N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Demircan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000379:methods*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013115:Spinal Canal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D021801:Zygapophyseal Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery