Limited Laminectomy Versus Traditional Laminectomy For Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Objective: To compare the clincal outcomes in Degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis(DLSS) patients treated with limited laminectomy versus traditional laminectomy with posterior instrumentation.Methods: From November 2011 to January 2014,sixty patients with lumbar spinal stenosis underwent limited laminectomy(group A) or traditional laminectomy(group B).The clinical outcomes include blood loss,operation time,hospital stay,incremental curvature of lumbar spine,fusion rate,incremental height of segments,and Japanese Orthopedic Association(JOA)scores were compare.Results: Compared with group A,group B had more blood loss,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).However,the operation time and hospital stay of group A had no significant diferences with group B.All patients were followed up for 13~35 months,with the median of 21.5 months.There was a significantly greater improvement in JOA scores after limited laminectomy and standard laminectomy(P<0.05), but the JOA improvement were not different between the 2 groups.The postoperative incremental height of segments increased obviously in every group(P<0.05).However 6 months and 12 months after operation,the incremental height of segments of group B decreased obviously(P<0.05).The incremental curvature of lumbar spine of the 2 groups was not different between preoperation and postoperation.Conclusion: Both limited laminectomy and standard laminectomy could acquire satisfied clinical outcome in DLSS surgery.The limited laminectomy surgery is a safe and effective way to treat DLSS with less invasion.