Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis in the elderly

Objectives: Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic decompression (PTED) under local anesthesia is rarely performed for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) because of the limited field of vision, inherent instability, etc. The objective of this study was to describe the procedure of the PTED technique and to demonstrate the early clinical outcomes. Patients and methods: From January 2017 to January 2019, 40 consecutive patients aged 60 and older were diagnosed with LSS with DLS in our institution and underwent PTED. All patient were followed up to 1 year postoperatively. The clinical outcomes were evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and modified MacNab criteria. Results: The mean age was 70.2 +/- 7.1 years. Follow-up ranged from 12 to 24 months. The mean +/- SD values of the preoperative VAS leg pain and ODI scores were 7.5 +/- 1.1 and 67.3 +/- 9.3, respectively. The scores improved to 2.2 +/- 1.1 and 20.7 +/- 8.1 at 12 months postoperatively. The outcomes of the modified MacNab criteria showed that 87.5 % of patients obtained a good-to-excellent rate. The percent slippage of spondylolisthesis before surgery (10.8 +/- 2.6 %) and at the end of follow-up (11.0 +/- 2.4 %) was not significantly different. One patient had a dural tear and intracranial hypertension, and one patient had tibialis anterior weakness. Conclusion: PTED under local anesthesia could be an effective treatment method for LSS with DLS in elderly patients. However, potential complications still require further evaluation.