Clinical Outcomes Following Repair of the Pars Interarticularis

Spondylolysis is a source of back pain in adolescents and young adults.

The purpose of this study was to report clinical outcomes in 49 patients treated with isolated motion-sparing repair of the pars interarticularis. Patients who underwent direct repair of the pars interarticularis between 2002 and 2009 were identified. Standard demographic and radiographic data, needed for further surgeries, and radiographic evidence of healing were collected.

Of 49 patients with 90 total pars defects (41 bilateral, 8 unilateral), 7 required reoperation. No serious complications were seen. None of the risk factors analyzed in our study were predictive of reoperation. The strongest preoperative predictor of Oswestry Disability Index score was Fujii chronicity (P = .041).

Motion segment sparing repair of the pars is a safe and effective procedure for refractory cases of spondylolysis.