Polyetheretherketone Rods in Lumbar Spine Degenerative Disease: Mid-term Results in a Patient Series Involving Radiological and Clinical Assessment

Özet

AIM: To evaluate the satisfaction of patients operated due to degenerative lumbar spinal diseases with dynamic stabilization placingpolyetheretherketone (PEEK) rods and to share their radiological and clinical results (mid-term) with visual analogue scale (VAS) andOswestry disability index (ODI) scores.MATERIAL and METHODS: The preoperative and postoperative low back pain, leg pain VAS and ODI scores of 172 patients whowere operated for degenerative spinal diseases, were evaluated. Preoperative and postoperative lumbar lordosis were compared.The patients included to the study were evaluated postoperatively around the 2nd year with lumbar MRI by means of adjacentsegment disease (ASD) and additional problems.RESULTS: A statistically but not radiologically-by means of sagittal profile reconstruction-significant increase in lumbar lordosisangle was achieved. Significant improvement was observed in the comparison of preoperative and postoperative period in theanalysis of patients’ preoperative low back pain (p<0.0001), and decompression-related leg pain VAS scores (p<0.0001). Significantimprovement was also observed in the ODI scores of the patients (p<0.0001). Among 172 patients with dynamic stabilization, therewere 10 patients who underwent reoperation (5.8%).CONCLUSION: Although it is statistically significant, it can be seen that the lumbar lordosis can not be corrected at significantdegrees radiographically in the operations performed with the PEEK rod. Dynamic stabilization with PEEK rod is insufficient forsagittal correction, but the mid-term results reached satisfactory reoperation rates clinically outcomes. Rate of ASD is quite low instabilization with PEEK rod.