The clinical outcome of lumbar disc herniation surgery (postoperative duration; 10-23 years, average 14 years) with or without posterolateral fusion (PLF) was evaluated using the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ). The results were also compared with average RDQ scores of the general public suffering from low back pain in Japan. No difference was found in RDQ scores between the post-operative patients and the general public with low back pain. Eighty-six percent of patients showed similar or better RDQ scores compared to the general public. There was no difference in RDQ scores of post-herniotomy patients with or without PLF. In conclusion, from the point of measuring low back pain disability such as utilizing the RDQ, the clinical outcome of surgery for lumbar disc herniation seemed good compared with general public and in this study, at least, fusion surgery was not shown as being superior to simple herniotomy.
