Degenerative spondylolisthesis

Abstract

A clinical study has been made of forty-three patients with symptoms arising from degenerative spondylolisthesis of the lumbar spine. Attention is drawn to the lower average level of the iliac crests in these patients, and to the high incidence of osteoarthritis of the hips. Many patients in this series had been referred specifically for operation and fourteen were so treated. The techniques of decompression and of spinal fusion are discussed. It is concluded that patients with back pain predominant are well treated by corsetry, only a minority needing fusion, and that patients with nerve root involvement or with symptoms of spinal stenosis need decompression. The place of spinal fusion is the main problem, but it seems reasonable, firstly, in younger patients with clear evidence of instability and degenerative change at a single level, and secondly, when radical decompression is judged to increase the risk of instability.