CT evaluation of epidural scars following multiple operations for lumbar disc arthrosis

The value of spinal CT in the diagnosis of postoperative epidural scars is illustrated in 5 patients who had previously undergone surgery for lumbar disc protrusions and/or stenosis of the lumbar canal. CT is superior to myelography both because it is noninvasive and because it supplies a direct image of the pathology underlying chronic pain in these patients. It also has prognostic value in that it can suggest an alternative (posterior rhizotomy) to simple removal of the scar tissue, which, according to the majority of authors, does not yield good long-term results.