A 93-year-old woman underwent a successful 2-level lumbar decompression with spinal anesthesia, according to a case study published June 23 in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
She had laminectomies at L4 and L5 simultaneously, and two surgeons used dual tubular retractors. Awake surgery was used since she wanted to avoid general anesthesia due to concerns about postoperative cognitive impairment.
The paper said, “[Spinal anesthesia] can be utilized safely during spinal surgery in the geriatric population. The use of dual tubular retractors by two surgeons working simultaneously allows for a safe and efficient decompression of stenosis at multiple levels. Dual tubular retractors can safely be used in conjunction with [spinal anesthesia] to achieve maximal benefit to the patient and surgical efficiency.”
