Publications by authors named "Catherine Mykolajtchuk"
Background: Failure to restore lordotic alignment is not an uncommon problem following minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF), even with expandable cages that increase disc height. This study aims to investigate the effect of the expandable cage that is specifically designed to expand both height and lordosis. We evaluated the outcomes of MIS TLIF in restoring immediate postoperative sagittal alignment by comparing two different types of expandable cages.
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- Unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression (ULBD) is a minimally invasive surgery that effectively relieves symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis while minimizing risks like blood loss, muscle damage, and pain compared to traditional methods.
- The study highlights a technique called slalom unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression with navigation, detailing ten steps to perform the surgery and reporting on a case series of seven patients who underwent the procedure.
- Results showed significant pain reduction post-surgery, with average pain scores dropping from 4.71 to 1.50 for back pain and 4.33 to 1.21 for leg pain, indicating it is a safe and efficient option for treating multi-segmental lumbar spinal stenosis.
Decompression alone versus decompression with fusion in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Eur Spine J
March 2023
Introduction: Surgical decompression is standard care in the treatment of degenerative spondylolisthesis in patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis, but there remains controversy over the benefits of adding fusion. The persistent lack of consensus on this matter and the availability of new data warrants a contemporary systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.
Methods: Multiple online databases were systematically searched up to October 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective studies comparing outcomes of decompression alone versus decompression with fusion for lumbar spinal stenosis in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis.
Background: Single-stage lateral lumbar interbody fusion is a safe and effective procedure that relies on indirect decompression and fusion to treat various lumbar pathologies. This technique, however, has an overall 9% rate of indirect decompression failure, which may require additional surgery to achieve adequate direct decompression. To address this concern, we modified this technique by adding a minimally invasive, direct tubular decompression in lateral position when indicated.
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