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Surgical treatment of lumbar stenosis: Long-term results

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Abstract

Lumbar stenosis is a disease of the elderly which is due, in the majority of cases, to degenerative changes. This disease causes considerable disability which cannot be ameliorated well by conservative treatment. Surgery is usually the treatment of choice, although long-term results have been reported in only a few publications. We attempted a reevaluation of our patients one to seven years after intervention. Overall results indicate that about 80% of our patients benefited from surgery in varying degrees. Only 10% showed post-operative deterioration.

One third of operated cases achieved complete working or functional capacity, while in the remaining cases disability persisted. Since long-term results are similar in patients over and under 65 years of age, intervention is recommended even in the older patient if his general condition is good enough to allow surgery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgical Clinic, University Hospital, Bonn, West Germany

    Wolfgang Mauersberger

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, St. Josef Hospital, Essen, West Germany

    Tobia Nietgen

  3. Neurochirurgische Klinik, Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, D-5300, Bonn 1, West Germany

    Wolfgang Mauersberger

Authors
  1. Wolfgang Mauersberger
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  2. Tobia Nietgen
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Mauersberger, W., Nietgen, T. Surgical treatment of lumbar stenosis: Long-term results. Neurosurg. Rev. 12, 291–295 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01780842

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