In patients undergoing single-level decompression and posterolateral arthrodesis for spinal stenosis and concurrent spondylolisthesis, a solid fusion improves long-term clinical results. Benefits of a successful arthrodesis over pseudarthrosis were demonstrated with respect to back and lower limb symptomatology compared with prior shorter-term studies, which indicated no significant difference in clinical outcome between the two groups.

Computed tomography-guided biopsy is an important tool in the evaluation of spinal lesions. A positive biopsy result may preclude the need for open surgical intervention. This study included one of the largest series of patients in the medical literature. In addition, it determined the diagnostic rates of this procedure with respect to the major influencing variables. Thoracic-level biopsies have a diagnostic rate that is significantly lower than that of other spinal levels. No significant correlation was found between diagnostic accuracy and age, gender, radiographic appearance, tissue type, or eventual diagnosis.

No abstract