• M Iu Likhachev and V D Sudorov.
• Vestn Rentgenol Radiol. 2004 Jul 1 (4): 41-6.

AbstractThe results of treatment were analyzed in 70 patients with dystrophic diseases of the lumbosacral spine complicated by the displacement of intervertebral disks. All the examinees had a long history and a protracted exacerbation resistant to conservative therapy. Long-term local epidural pharmacotherapy (LTLEP) was used for their treatment. The essence of the method was to employ selective catheterization under X-ray guidance of the epidural space, to bring a catheter directly to a pathological area. Further it was irrigated with drugs many times. The results of treatment were analyzed from changes in the pain syndrome in the early and periods and from the data of repeated studies (magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT)). LTLEP was highly effective, i.e. 84.3% of positive results. Follow-up MRI or CT findings show that the pathological substrate disappears or significantly decreases in sizes in 83.4% of cases. LTLEP is safe: in the study group, there were no complications due to the manipulation itself and after treatment the patients' health status did not deteriorate owing to a therapeutic process. If conservative therapy is inefficient, it may be used as an alternative to conventional and low-invasive neurosurgical operations.

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