HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Even-Sapir, E. Articles by Clark, A. J. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Even-Sapir, E. Articles by Clark, A. J. M.

Assessment of Painful Late Effects of Lumbar Spinal Fusion with SPECT

Division of Nuclear Medicine, Division of Osteoradiology, and the Pain Management Unit, Department of Anesthesia, Victoria General Hospital, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Correspondence: For reprints and correspondence contact: Einat Even-Sapir, MD, DSc, Div. of Nuclear Medicine, Dept. of Radiology, Victoria General Hospital, 1278 Tower Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 2Y9.

ABSTRACT

The authors reviewed planar, SPECT and other contemporaneous radiologic images of the spine and the medical records of 33 patients with back pain after lumbar fusion surgery in order to determine the value of SPECT in the assessment of painful late effects of spinal fusion surgery. Methods: Twenty-one patients had lateral fusion, nine patients had postenor fusion only and three patients had anterior and postenor fusions. There were 24 patients who had surgery more than 4 yr ago(late group, mean 11.8 yr) and 9 patients who had surgery less than 4 yr ago (early group, mean 17.8 mo). Results: The most common SPECT abnormality in patients in the late group were lesions in the vertebral bodies and apophyseal joints in the free motion segments adjacent to the fused segments(62.5% of patients). Such lesions occurred in 46% of patients after lateral fusion, in 87.5% of patients after posterior fusion and in 67% of patients after posterior and anterior fusions. No SPECT abnormalities were detected in the fused segments in patients in the late group with solid lateral fusion but were detected in three patients with solid posterior fusion. These results correlate with biomechanical studies that have shown posterior fusion to produce the largest amount and lateral fusion to produce the least amount of stress in the free segments adjacent to the fusion. Lateral fusion was found to have a more stabilizing effect than posterior fusion. Conclusion: In addition to the already established value of SPECT in detecting painful pseudoarthrosis, our results indicate that SPECT is of value in the assessment of painful late effects of fusion.

Key Words: spine • radionuclide studies • emission CT • facet joints

This article has been cited by other articles:

				W.G. Bradley Jr. and for the Expert Panel on Neurologic Imaging Low Back Pain AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., May 1, 2007; 28(5): 990 - 992. [Full Text] [PDF]