Clinical application of an interspinous device (CoflexTM) for for lumbar disc herniation

Abstract

Objective To compare the long-term clinical effects between lumber discectomy (LD) and the Coflex interspinal dynamic fixation system in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.Methods From January 2009 to May 2013,80 cases of lumbar disc herniation were enrolled in our study,including 37 cases subject to lumber discectomy,and 43 cases subject to Coflex system.All patients received visual analogue scale (VAS),lumbar Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and the Owestry disability index (ODI) assessment before and 12,24,36 and 48 months after operation.Surgically resected segmental dorsal disc height,the ventral disc height and spinal canal area were also measured through X-ray film and CT.Results The scores of JOA and VAS were significantly higher in Coflex group than in LD group 48 months after surgery (P ＜ 0.05).Coflex system treatment also showed advances in ODI assessment during the follow-up period of 12 months (P ＜ 0.05).There was significant difference in the surgically resected segmental dorsal disc height,the ventral disc height and spinal canal area between preoperation and the last follow-up,and there was also significant difference in the above parameters between the two groups at the last follow-up (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Forty-eight-month follow-up showed that patients subject to Coflex system had advantages in long-term clinical efficacy over LD. Key words: Lumbar disc herniation; Coflex; Lumbar discectomy