STUDY DESIGN A retrospective study PURPOSE This study examined the reliability of the MRI findings in detecting symptomatic extraforaminal disc herniation in the lumbar spine. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE There are no reports of the characteristics and reliable MRI findings of extraforaminal disc herniation. METHODS Thirty age-and gender-matched asymptomatic volunteers and 30 patients with symp...

BACKGROUND The authors analyzed inter- and intra-observer agreement with respect to interpretation of simple magnetic resonance T1- and T2-weighted axial and sagittal images for the diagnosis of lumbar lateral disc herniation, including foraminal and extraforaminal disc herniations. METHODS Forty-two patients in whom lumbar lateral disc herniation was suspected or confirmed by simple magnetic...

BACKGROUND Purely extradural lumbar schwannomas are rare lesions. Resection traditionally requires an open laminectomy and ipsilateral complete facectomy. Recent reports have demonstrated safety and efficacy of removal of these tumors using mini-open access devices with expandable retractors. We report a case of a giant L3 schwannoma successfully resected through a minimally invasive approach u...

Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar foraminotomy (ELF) is a novel minimally invasive technique used to treat lumbar foraminal stenosis. However, the validity of foraminal decompression based on quantitative assessment using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has not yet been established. The objective of this study was to investigate the radiographic efficiency of ELF using MRI. Radiographic changes o...

  Abstract   Background: Far lateral discal herniation is an uncommon disorder and is difficult   to assess by physical examination alone. This study is designed to define clinical and   epidemiological findings and to establish the indications of surgical and medical treatment for FLLDH.   Methods: Between 2000 and 2005, a total of 2035 patients with lumbar disc herniation   underwent surgical...

Extraforaminal lumbar disk herniation is unusual and often undetected by myelography. Four cases were detected by high-resolution computed tomography. They were verified by surgery in one, diskography in one, and by the clinical course in two cases. Metrizamide myelography in two of the three patients was normal. This suggests that CT can accurately detect the diagnostically troublesome extrafo...

Background. Postoperative C5 motor palsy is known as a common complication not only after cervical laminectomy but also after anterior discectomy. There is no consensus to verify any of the proposed mechanisms of C5 palsy following posterior cervical decompression. The authors of this article have found that C5 palsy is more common among patients with smaller C5 root exit foramen area. The purp...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to present the outcome of the microsurgical foraminotomy via Wiltse paraspinal approach for foraminal or extraforaminal (FEF) stenosis at L5-S1 level. We investigated risk factors associated with poor outcome of microsurgical foraminotomy at L5-S1 level. METHODS We analyzed 21 patients who underwent the microsurgical foraminotomy for FEF stenosis at L5-...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the reproducibility of a new grading system for lumbar foraminal stenosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four grades were developed for lumbar foraminal stenosis on the basis of sagittal MRI. Grade 0 refers to the absence of foraminal stenosis; grade 1 refers to mild foraminal stenosis showing perineural fat obliteration in the two opposing directions, vertical ...