Medical Student Tampa General Hospital University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
Disclosure(s):
Richard J. Rivera, BS: No financial relationships to disclose
Introduction: Lumbar decompression surgery is crucial for alleviating symptoms like pain, paresthesia, and weakness in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis or disc herniation. Endoscopic spine surgery, known for its minimally invasive nature with shorter hospital stays and smaller incisions, often yields favorable outcomes compared to traditional minimally invasive surgery (MIS) laminectomy. However, decompression alone may not suffice in some cases, potentially necessitating subsequent spinal fusion. This study aims to compare the incidence of spinal fusion following endoscopic lumbar decompression versus tubular MIS.
Methods: This is a single institution retrospective review of all patients who underwent endoscopic (n=80) or MIS (n=101) lumbar decompression surgery from 2023 to 2024. We conducted statistics using SPSS and classified p values ≤ 0.05 as significant.
Results: Among patients undergoing MIS lumbar decompression (n=101), 2 required subsequent fusion surgery over an average follow-up of 160 days. Among those undergoing endoscopic lumbar decompression (n=80), 3 required fusion surgeries over an average follow-up of 57 days. There was no significant difference in the occurrence of subsequent fusion surgeries between the endoscopic and MIS groups (OR=1.929, 95% CI=0.314-11.829).
Conclusion : Our cohort displays evidence that endoscopic lumbar decompression surgery does not pose an increased risk for subsequent fusion surgery when compared to MIS. Future studies with larger cohorts may provide stronger support of our findings.
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