To fuse or not to fuse: The elderly patient with lumbar stenosis and low-grade spondylolisthesis. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

One- and 2-year outcomes of lumbar facet arthroplasty versus spinal fusion in young (<65 years) and old (≥65 years) patients for the treatment of degenerative spondylolisthesis and stenosis

“…Similarly, the Swedish Spinal Stenosis Study also did not identify differences in patient-reported outcomes or reoperation for lumbar stenosis with or without spondylolisthesis [ 8 ]. However, a meta-analysis of patients ≥65 years with lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis found that patients who underwent decompression only had fewer surgical complications but had worsening degenerative spondylolisthesis postoperatively [ 25 ]. Clinical trials comparing lumbar facet arthroplasty with decompression with or without fusion in do not exist for the elderly.…”