Retrospective Review of Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Treatment

After approval by the ethics committee at our hospital, a retrospective review was performed of 279 consecutive patients diagnosed with DLSS between January 2018 and August 2020. The inclusion requirements necessitated that patients were [7 (link), 12 (link)] 1) aged 40–80 years and 2) underwent ICS and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), 3) with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. The exclusion criteria included 1) previous spinal surgery, 2) osteopenia or osteoporosis, 3) degenerative lumbar scoliosis (Cobb angle > 25°), 4) cauda equina syndrome, 5) spinal infection, and 6) radiographically confirmed damage of the vertebrae caused by trauma or tumors. A total of 89 patients were included in the final analysis after selection.
Demographic data, such as age, sex, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI), were collected via electronic medical record reviews. The bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine was assessed via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
The patients were classified into three groups based on the fusion levels. Patients with L5-S1 TLIF and ICS at L4-L5 were assigned to Group A, patients with L4-S1 TLIF and ICS at L3-L4 were assigned to Group B, and those with L3-S1 TLIF and ICS at L2-L3 were assigned to Group C.