Previously reported biomechanical studies on the effects of various types of spinal fusion procedures upon the adjacent segment indicate a significant degree of increased stress at that segment. This study presents 18 patients in whom new symptoms developed from the segment adjacent to a fusion after an average symptom-free interval of 8.5 years (1-38 years). The most common pathologic condition at the adjacent segment was hypertrophic degenerative arthritis of the facet joints. Spinal stenosis was found there in eight cases; severe disc degeneration in five; degenerative spondylolisthesis in two; and spondylolysis acquisita in one.
Copyright remains with the authors and publisher.
Previously reported biomechanical studies on the effects of various types of spinal fusion procedures upon the adjacent segment indicate a significant degree of increased stress at that segment. This study presents 18 patients in whom new symptoms developed from the segment adjacent to a fusion after an average symptom-free interval of 8.5 years (1-38 years). The most common pathologic condition at the adjacent segment was hypertrophic degenerative arthritis of the facet joints. Spinal stenosis was found there in eight cases; severe disc degeneration in five; degenerative spondylolisthesis in two; and spondylolysis acquisita in one.
Copyright remains with the authors and publisher.