The study followed 17 patients who received the implant after a laminotomy. They were evaluated for long-term improvements in visual analog scale and range of motion over 51 months.
The reduction in VAS scores showed an average improvement of 81 percent, and the average preoperative and postoperative ROMs were 8.2 degrees and 7.4 degrees, respectively.
“The results of our study point to the potential for the Tops System as a new surgical option for degenerative spondylolisthesis and lumbar spinal stenosis that could relieve leg and back pain while allowing patients to maintain range of motion,” study author Werner Lack, MD, said in a Sept. 7 news release. “Outcomes from our experience support a low complication rate with an unusually rapid, and sustained, reduction in pain.”
Tops is the only facet joint replacement system for the lumbar spine and is under an FDA investigational device exemption clinical trial.
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