Follow-up study was done for periods of one to eight years on 97 cases of lumbar disc prolapse.
Of these 25 cases were operated on by the posterior route without fusion and 72 cases by the anterior route with fusion. Two groups of patients were compared from the standpoint of clinical results.
The results of surgery in the former group were: excellent in 40%, good in 40%, fair in 16%, and poor in 4%, whereas those in the latter were: excellent in 44.4%, good in 33.3%, fair in 18.1% and poor in 4.2% of the patients.
Between these two groups there were few significant statistical differences.
