The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 69, Issue 2 218-224, Copyright © 1987 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
The use of computerized tomography in evaluating non-visualized vertebral levels caudad to a complete block on a lumbar myelogram. A review of thirty-two cases
HN Herkowitz, SR Garfin, GR Bell, F Bumphrey and RH Rothman
In thirty-two patients who demonstrated a complete or almost complete block
on a lumbar myelogram, computerized tomography of the non-visualized
vertebral levels caudad to the block was performed prior to surgical
intervention. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical value
of computerized tomography in detecting a lesion that is caudad to the
level of a myelographic block. For twenty-three patients the cause of the
myelographic block was stenosis of the spine; for five patients, a
combination of stenosis of the spine and herniation of a disc; for one
patient, herniation of a disc between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae
alone; for two patients, arachnoiditis; and for one patient, kyphosis
secondary to fracture. A total of fifty vertebral levels that could not be
visualized because of the block were evaluated. Thirty (60 per cent) of the
non-visualized vertebral levels, in nineteen (59 per cent) of the
thirty-two patients, demonstrated stenosis of the spine or a herniated disc
that was confirmed at the time of surgical treatment. The value of
computerized tomography for the evaluation of the vertebral levels caudad
to the level of a complete or almost complete block on a lumbar myelogram
was threefold. First, it provided visualization of the vertebral levels
that could not be evaluated by the myelography. Second, the findings on
computerized tomography provided information that was essential for
preoperative planning and it removed the so-called exploratory element from
the operative procedure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)