Concomitant back pain as a predictor of outcome after single level lumbar micro-decompressive surgery – A study of 995 patients

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine if preoperative leg pain and low back pain severity affected postoperative outcome. MethodProspectively collected Spine-Tango data was analysed for 995 consecutive patients who underwent a primary, single level, lumbar micro-decompression/microdiscectomy at a single tertiary spinal centre. ResultAt 3 months, 72% of patients were satisfied with the outcome of surgery. Pre-operative low back pain was a significant predictor of poor outcome (P < 0.01). ConclusionOur study has shown that patients with a low back pain VAS of 6 or more have a significantly greater chance of a poor outcome following primary lumbar microdecompressive/microdiscectomy surgery.