Management of pain syndrome in patients with adjacent level pathology – long-term outcomes after minimally invasive technologies

Long-term outcomes (3–5 years) in 71 patient with the adjacent level lesion syndrome (ALDS) were analyzed. All patients underwent minimally invasive surgical interventions (puncture laser decompression of intervertebral discs and radiofrequency denervation of the facet joints) in the neurosurgical department of Irkutsk Scientific Center for Surgery and Traumatology. The applied technology was chosen after analyzing clinical examination findings, introscopy findings, degeneration coefficient and intervertebral disc height. In the study, there were 37 males, 34 females. Average age 54.1 ± 2.3 years. The time interval between the initial decompression and stabilization surgery and the subsequent minimally invasive surgical intervention was 48 ± 3.8 months. The effectiveness of minimally invasive surgical treatment was assessed after analyzing clinical and neurological findings, radiological findings (MRI, MSCT, overview and functional spondylography) as well as by the visual analog pain scale and MacNab questionnaire.