At-Home Assistance Could Help Support Recovery

Researchers have found significant benefit from surgical treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis with and without degenerative spondylolisthesis – debilitating spinal conditions which, as you may know, can cause leg and back pain, numbness and weakness. Researchers also found no higher overall complication rate and no higher mortality for patients age 80 and older when compared with patients younger than age 80.

“This study demonstrates that surgery for the treatment of lumbar stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis provides significant benefit compared to non-operative treatment in those patients over the age of 80,” said lead study author Jeffrey A. Rihn, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon at the Rothman Institute and associate professor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa.

“Patients in this age group had significant improvement in their function after surgery and complication rates comparable to the younger demographic. Based on the results of this study, surgery should be considered a viable treatment option for these lumbar conditions in patients older than age 80.”

To learn more about the report, visit http://jbjs.org/content/97/3/177.