Facet joint thickness and lumbar instability documented on myelo-computed tomography studies in patients with lumbar degenerative disease

Shunsuke Ikeda; Hidetoshi Ooigawa; Tatsuki Kimura; Hideki Tanabe; Hiroki Kurita

doi:10.25259/SNI_652_2023

Facet joint thickness and lumbar instability documented on myelo-computed tomography studies in patients with lumbar degenerative disease

Surg Neurol Int. 2023 Sep 22:14:342. doi: 10.25259/SNI_652_2023. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shunsuke Ikeda¹, Hidetoshi Ooigawa¹, Tatsuki Kimura¹, Hideki Tanabe², Hiroki Kurita¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, International Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Hidaka, Saitama, Japan.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Tanabe Neurosurgical Hospital, Osaka, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Various indicators of vertebral instability in patients with lumbar degenerative disease can be identified in myelo-computed tomography (CT) studies.

Methods: Of 120 patients, 45 with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (LDS; 53 lumbar lesions) and 75 with lumbar spinal stenosis alone (LSS; 105 lesions) (2015-2019) myelo-CT studies and surgery confirmed the presence of lumbar instability. Myelo-CT findings indicative of instability included facet joint thickness (FJT), fluid in the facet joint, facet tropism, and air in the facet and/or disc.

Results: For the 120 study patients, FJT was significantly elevated in both the LDS and LSS groups.

Conclusion: FJT on myelo-CT is more specific for lumbar instability than other imaging parameters when evaluating LDS. An increase in FJT suggests vertebral instability likely warranting fusion.

Keywords: Facet; Lumbar degenerative disease; Lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis; Lumbar spinal stenosis; Spine.