title: Long-Term Results and Efficacy of Laminectomy with Fusion Versus Young Laminoplasty for the Treatment of Degenerative Spinal Stenosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In the treatment of degenerative lumbar stenosis, facet-sparing laminectomy with instrumented fusion (FSL) was recently almost totally replaced by less invasive, allegedly equally effective surgical techniques. We performed a long-term comparison between outcomes after Young laminoplasty (YL) as a representative of the less invasive technique and FSL.
  
  
  METHODS
  From December 4, 2000, to March 11, 2005, 56 patients with a history of neurogenic claudication and radiologically verified absolute lumbar stenosis were surgically treated. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 44 patients were enrolled.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using the Oswestry Disability Index scale, significant improvement on 1-year and 8-year follow-up examinations was noticed in the FSL and YL groups. The Oswestry Disability Index was significantly better in the FSL group compared with the YL group at the 8-year follow-up (27.82 ± 1.918 vs. 40.74 ± 2.163).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FSL is a more invasive and more expensive surgical technique than YL. In a short-term and long-term follow-up comparison, FSL is a more successful operative technique, and the difference increases over time in favor of FSL.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, The University Hospital Centre "Sestre Milosrdnice", Zagreb, Croatia. Electronic address: iskoro@gmail.com.
authors: Ivan
authors: I
authors: Škoro
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, The University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors: Marin
authors: M
authors: Stančić
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, The University Hospital Centre "Sestre Milosrdnice", Zagreb, Croatia.
authors: Marinko
authors: M
authors: Kovačević
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, The University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors: Krešimir S
authors: KS
authors: Đurić
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000379:methods; D065406:Laminoplasty; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Laminectomy; Minimally invasive surgical procedures; Spinal fusion and instrumentation; Spinal stenosis