Background:The clinical outcomes of redundant nerve roots(RNRs) in patients with lumbar foraminal spinal stenosis(LFSS) are currently unknown. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the post-procedure outcomes of RNRs in LFSS after percutaneous lumbar extraforaminotomy(PLEF) by comparative analysis between a group of patients with RNRs and a group without RNRs.
Methods: Patients with LFSS who underwent PLEF were retrospectively analyzed. RNRs was defined as thick, elongated and tortuous structures in the cauda equine associated with spinal stenosis demonstrable by sagittal or transverse images of MRI. On the basis of the MRI scans obtained before PLEF, patients were stratified into two groups. Group I included patients without RNRs, and group II included patients with RNRs. Comparative analysis was performed.
Results: From March 2016 to January 2019, we found that 7 of the 23 patients who underwent PLEF showed RNRs on MRI images. RNRs was found in 30.4% of patients on PLEF. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups with regard to the changes of pain intensity(△NRS), incidence rate of epidural block after PLEF, incidence rate of operation after PLEF. However, PLEF showed a tendency to be better outcomes described above in the group I.
Conclusion: RNRs is a relatively common finding in association with LFSS and may affect the treatment outcomes. Clinical outcomes in the group II were not statistically different from those in the group I, although group I showed slightly better outcomes.