Spinal fusion does not always heal back pain

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Although spinal fusion rates are going up, the outcome is not improving.
Chronic back problems can sometimes be addressed by surgery. In recent years spinal fusion has been a technique of choice. It involves fusing together adjacent vertebrae in the spine. Recently, new devices called 'cages' have been introduced which are implanted to guide the growth of bone grafts for lumbar fusion.

The number of patients undergoing lumbar fusion with cages has gone up from less than four per cent in 1994 to 58 per cent in 2001. But, according to data presented by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, there have not been corresponding improvements in back pain. Two years after lumbar fusion, 64 per cent of patients were still classified as disabled and this proportion was the same whether or not the operation had been done with a cage.

Doing the surgery with a cage also increased the complication rate. And lumbar fusion with a cage is more costly than when it is done without. Therefore, the researchers suggest that this new approach should not automatically be a method of choice when it comes to treating back pain.

Source
Spine 1st November 2006

Please take a moment to give us your comments. For questions about Health matters you may check our "Questions & Answers" Portal and Service.