May 31, 2007

Dr. Michael Longley of The Nebraska Spine Center has co-authored an article on the treatment of Lumbar Spondylolisthesis.  In the article, treatment options (i.e., surgical vs. nonsurgical) for degenerative spondylolisthesis with spinal stenosis is evaluated. 

Surgical candidates from 13 centers (11 in the U.S.), who had at least 12 weeks of symptoms and image-confirmed degenerative spondylolisthesis were offered enrollment in the research.  Treatment was either standard decompressive laminectomy (with or without fusion) or usual nonsurgical care.

Outcome measures were a bodily pain survey and physical function scores and the modified Oswestry Disability Index at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 and 2 years.

Results:  Of 304 enrolled patients in the randomized cohort (surgical) and 303 in the observational cohort (nonsurgical), patients treated surgically showed substantial greater improvement in pain and function during a period of 2 years than patients treated non-surgically.