Outcome analysis of lumbar endoscopic unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression in patients with degenerative lumbar central canal stenosis

Background Context: Lumbar endoscopic unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression (LE-ULBD) has been reported as an alternative treatment for degenerative lumbar central canal stenosis (DLCS). Purpose: To investigate the outcomes of LE-ULBD for different types of DLCS, including simple DLCS, DLCS with degenerative spondylolisthesis (DSL), and DLCS with degenerative scoliosis (DSC). Study Design/Setting: Prospective cohort study. Patient Sample: One-hundred sixteen patients with DLCS who underwent LE-ULBD at a spine center from April 2015 to June 2017 were enrolled in this study. Outcome Measures: Operative time, postoperative duration of hospitalization, and clinical outcomes (Oswestry disability index [ODI], visual analog scale [VAS], and modified Macnab outcome scale), and adverse events. Methods: A comparative analysis was performed evaluating medical records, radiological studies, and patient reported outcomes including ODI score, VAS scores and modified Macnab outcome scales in patients who underwent LE-ULBD. Data were prospectively collected at preoperative, postoperative 3-, 6-, 12-, 24-month to assess clinical and radiological outcomes and complications. Results: The study analyzed 106 patients (45 men and 61 women, with a mean age of 69.5 years); 40 (37.8%) had simple DLCS, 41 (38.7%) had DLCS with DSL, and 25 (23.5%) had DLCS with DSC. The mean follow-up period was 33.3 months. The mean preoperative and postoperative follow-up ODI score and VAS scores for leg and back pain showed significant improvement in all time points. No significant difference was found among different pathologies in terms of VAS scores for back and leg pain, ODI scores and modified Macnab outcome scales at all follow-up periods. Conclusions: LE-ULBD is a feasible treatment method for DLCS. It did not result in worse outcomes in cases with DLCS with DSL or DLCS with DSC as compared with cases with simple DLCS.