Postoperative Epidural Fibrosis Prevention: Which Is Better-Autologous Fat versus Gelfoam

Prospective, randomized study of 100 patients with prolapsed intervertebral disc with an average of 12- to 18-month follow-up postoperatively.

To compare the role of Gelfoam and autologous fat in the prevention of postoperative epidural fibrosis (EF) after lumbar spine surgery.

EF is a possible sequelae of lumbar disc surgery. Different treatments and surgical strategies have been attempted to prevent postoperative fibrosis without providing consistent long-term results.

The study was conducted on 100 adult patients. The patients were randomly allocated into two groups of 50 patients each: group A, autologous fat group, and group B, Gelfoam group. The postoperative follow-up was conducted at intervals of 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Both groups were evaluated clinically (Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire [ODI], Visual Analog Scale [VAS], Straight Leg Raising Test [SLRT]) and radiologically (using Ross grading by contrast magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) for development of radicular pain and hence EF.

Based on the analysis, improvement in mean values of ODI score, VAS score, and SLRT were found to be statistically significant postoperatively at intervals of 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months when compared individually in both groups. However, improvement was greater in the autologous fat group than in the Gelfoam group. Based on contrast-enhanced MRI, the number of patients who developed EF was smaller in the autologous fat group than in the Gelfoam group.

In the present study, on clinical and radiological assessment, we conclude that both groups prevent radicular pain and postoperative EF individually but relatively autologous fat was found to be more effective than Gelfoam in the prevention of EF and hence radicular pain.