Diskography Outcomes in Patients Following Lumbar Diskectomy

The results of lumbar diskography at post-diskectomy and nonoperative disk levels in postoperative patients and patients without prior back surgery were reviewed over 3 years. Other possible predictive factors, including disk degeneration (per the Adam's classification), end-point resistance, gender, and age, also were reviewed. The results revealed that no statistically significant association was noted between the presence of a prior diskectomy and the outcome of diskography. However, disk degeneration classified as ruptured and fissured correlated statistically with positive diskography. Additionally, age between 30 and 39 years and male gender were statistically associated with a positive diskogram. Disk levels displaying a poor end point during diskography injection (not amendable to pressurization) were statistically related to ruptured or fissured disk levels and thus positive diskography. Based on these results, the assumption that disabling low-back pain presenting after lumbar procedure is due to diskogenic disease arising from the surgical level is not supported.