• Changbo Lu, Haiyang Qiu, Xinyi Huang, Xiaojiang Yang, Daming Liu, Saili Zhang, and Yang Zhang.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
• World Neurosurg. 2023 Feb 1; 170: e441e454e441-e454.

BackgroundTandem spinal stenosis (TSS) refers to simultaneous spinal canal stenosis of noncontiguous regions. There is no consensus in the surgical strategies for patients with symptomatic TSS because of the confusing clinical manifestations. This meta-analysis aimed to compare the outcomes of 1-stage and 2-stage decompression of all stenotic regions (cervical and lumbar/thoracic segments) in patients with TSS.MethodsA systematic review was conducted, and a comprehensive literature search with the Japanese Orthopedic Association score, was carried out using MEDLINE, Web of Science, and PubMed databases from inception to September 13, 2022. Observational studies reporting the outcomes after 1-stage or 2-stage decompression of all symptomatic regions were included. Possible heterogeneity among studies was assessed by the Higgins I2 test, and heterogeneity was statistically investigated using the Q statistic.ResultsThirteen retrospective observational studies were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the Japanese Orthopedic Association score improvement in patients with TSS involving either the cervical-thoracic or cervical-lumbar segments. Regarding the surgical parameters and complications, 1-stage decompression showed comparable operation time, blood loss, and major complications to 2-stage decompression in patients with cervical and lumbar TSS. In patients with cervical and thoracic TSS, 1-stage decompression had significant advantages compared with 2-stage decompression in operation time, blood loss, and major complications.ConclusionsFor patients with cervical and lumbar TSS, 2-stage decompression showed slight advantages in clinical outcome without exposing patients to unnecessary surgical risks. For patients with cervical and thoracic TSS, 1-stage decompression showed comparable clinical outcome, although with better operative parameters and lower complication rate than in simultaneous decompression.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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