Surgical outcomes of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis: A cohort study

Abstract

Background. DLS is defined as the slippage of one vertebra over the one below, in association with intervertebral disc degeneration and arthritis of the facet joints of the involved vertebrae, which will cause canal stenosis. Purpose. The primary objective of this study is to compare the outcome after surgical intervention (with neural decompression, fusion and fixation) in proved patients with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (DLS). Patients and methods. Fifty patients with symptomatic DLS, in the period between October 2021 and March 2023, graded using Myerding scale, operated on by instrumented posterolateral fusion and decompression. Mean patients’ age at surgery was 50 years (range, 49–69). Surgical results were evaluated using ODI. Lumbar spine radiographs were used to evaluate the status of fixation constructs, the sagittal balance and the status of fusion. Results. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were encountered, but all were relatively not significant. Follow up time was 18 months. Clinical outcome was good or very good in 30 patients and satisfactory in 13 patients. This research showed that surgical intervention in patients with DLS is a valid option for addressing the clinical symptoms, surgical outcome, planned pain relief and return to daily activity. Conclusion. DLS is a common pathology, many treatment options are available including conservative and surgical, surgery is a valid option for candidates with DLS as it aims to decompress the neural tissue and correct sagittal balance.