Abstract
Twenty patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis underwent epiduroscopic adhesiolysis between July 2010 and June 2011 at Kyoto Prefectural University Hospital. Patients with radiculopathy had better outcomes than patients with cauda equina lesion. In particular, the long-term outcome was better in the radicuropathy group. When nerve root block was added during epiduroscopy for lesions for which epiduroscopic neuroplasty was impossible, the therapeautic effect was enhanced. On the other hand, there is a high risk of complications of epidural and nerve root damage during epiduroscopy in cases with advanced scoliosis or extreme lumbar canal stenosis. Such cases should therefore not be considered as candidates for epiduroscopy.
