A new study published in The Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine shows scoliosis could increase recurrent lumbar disc herniation risk after the surgeon performs a microdiscectomy.
The researchers examined 58 patients who underwent microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniation. The retrospective review included adults who were over 40 years old and underwent a one-level fusion. The patients with scoliosis were compared to patients without scoliosis.
The researchers found:
1. Two years after the initial surgery, 10.3 percent of the patients had recurrent lumbar disc herniation along with the variable symptoms.
2. The recurrent lumbar disc herniation was significantly higher among the scoliosis group — 33 percent.
3. The recurrent lumbar disc herniation rate in the non-scoliosis group was 2.3 percent.
4. The recurrence free interval in the scoliosis group was short, according to the report.
5. The authors concluded, "Young adults with uncorrected scoliosis are at higher risk of recurrent LDH after microdiscectomy."