Purpose: We aim to determine whether preoperatively initiated gabapentin for pain control impacts the percentage of rootlets cut during monitored, limited laminectomy selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) procedure.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study includes participants with cerebral palsy who had SDR for treatment of spasticity between 2010 and 2019 at a single-institution tertiary care center. One-level laminectomy SDR aimed to evaluate the cauda equina roots from levels L2-S1 with EMG monitoring. Gabapentin titration began 3 weeks prior to SDR. Data was analyzed using simple linear regression. Thirty-one individuals met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 7 years, 4 months. Eighteen participants (58%) identified as male, 12 (39%) female, and one (3%) non-binary. Thirty (97%) had bilateral CP. Sixteen (52%) were GMFCS II, four (13%) GMFCS III, five (16%) GMFCS IV, and six (19%) GMFCS V.
Results: Mean percentage of rootlets transected was 50.75% (SD 6.00, range 36.36-60.87). There was no relationship between the dose of gabapentin at time of SDR and percentage of rootlets cut with a linear regression slope of - 0.090 and an R2 of 0.012 (P = 0.56).
Conclusion: Results indicate that preoperative initiation of gabapentin did not impact the percentage of rootlets transected. Thus, gabapentin can be initiated prior to SDR at moderate dosages without impacting SDR surgical outcomes.
Keywords: Cerebral palsy (CP); Electromyography (EMG); Gabapentin; Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR); Spasticity.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.