Surgical Treatment of Degenerative Lumbar Canal Stenosis by The Windows Technique

Abstract

Introduction: Degenerative lumbar canal stenosis is the most common diagnosis and the main indication for surgery in adults over 60 years of age. The main objective is fusion decompression with or without instrumentation. There are different surgical techniques to be used according to the type of stenosis and the surgeon's experience, which makes the type of surgery to be performed very controversial.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of fusion for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis treated by windows technique.

Methods: A prospective descriptive study was carried out on the surgical treatment of degenerative lumbar canal stenosis in 88 patients operated on in the Orthopedic service at Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital from January 2007 to December 2017. The type of surgery used corresponded to the windows technique according to the type of stenosis. The Oswestry scale and the Visual Analog Scale were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the technique.

Results: The age group of 60 years and older predominated, and the female sex was the most represented. Before surgery, 71.5% of the cases had neurogenic gait claudication and 28.5% had predominant root symptoms. According to the Oswestry scale and the Visual Analog Scale, postoperative results were evaluated as good in 79.4% of the patients, fair in 12.6%, and poor in 9.0%.

Conclusions: The Windows technique has been effective in the surgical treatment of degenerative lumbar canal stenosis and improvement in the quality of life after surgery is evidenced.