2000 Volume 49 Issue 4 Pages 1162-1165
22 aged cases (over 65 years old) and 21 adult cases (under 65 years old) of lumbar canal stenosis treated by fenestration are compared. The average age at operation was 70.0 among the aged and 53.3 among the adults. The average follow-up period after the operation was 3.3 years among the aged and 3.1 years among the adult.
The JOA score of pre and postoperation, recovery rate by Hirabayashi, preoperative complication, radiological instability were studied.
In the aged patients, the average JOA score improved from 13.6 points to 20.4 points and the recovery rate was 44.3%. In the adult patients, the JOA score changed from 12.6 points to 21.6 points, and the recovery rate was 56.0%. The aged patients did not show remarkable changes in the ADL score. Preoperative complication was found in 12 cases (57.1%) among the aged, and in 4 cases (18.2%) among the adult patients. Preoperative complication interrupts ADL improvement in aged patients. Radiological instability was found in only 3 aged patients, whose recovery rate was under 50%.
