Arya Nick Shamie, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Neurosurgery, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, discusses the Spine Patient Outcome Research Trial, which showed that surgical treatment for lumbar disc herniation, lumbar stenosis and spondylolisthesis gave better outcomes than non-surgical treatment.

Reading:

Allen RT, Rihn JA, Glassman SD, Currier B, Albert TJ, Phillips FM. An evidence-based approach to spine surgery. Am J Med Qual. 2009 Nov-Dec;24(6 Suppl):15S-24S.

Strömqvist F, Jönsson B, Strömqvist B; Swedish Society of Spinal Surgeons. Dural lesions in lumbar disc herniation surgery: incidence, risk factors, and outcome. Eur Spine J.

Wang BG, Fu YH, Fu Q, Wang GB. [Clinical analysis in treating lumbar intervertebral disc herniation with nucleus pulposus resection through small incision and lamina fenestration]. Zhongguo Gu Shang. 2009 Oct;22(10):744-6.

Papavero L, Thiel M, Fritzsche E, Kunze C, Westphal M, Kothe R. Lumbar spinal stenosis: prognostic factors for bilateral microsurgical decompression using a unilateral approach. Neurosurgery. 2009 Dec;65(6 Suppl):182-7; discussion187.