Operative Treatment of Bertolotti Syndrome: Resection Versus Fusion

To compare the outcomes of joint resection versus fusion in patients who undergo operative treatment for Bertolotti syndrome.

A chart review identified patients with Bertolotti syndrome who underwent operative treatment, consisting of either Bertolotti joint decompression/resection or fusion across the abnormal transitional lumbosacral vertebrae. Patients with other symptomatic operative spinal disease were excluded.

Twenty-seven patients (9 men, 18 women) were identified for inclusion in the study with an average age of 40 ± 16 years, body mass index of 27 ± 5, and follow-up of 39 ± 48 months. Most patients presented with back pain (74%) or leg pain (48%) for an average duration of 61 ± 54 months. Nineteen (70%) presented with a Castellvi subtype 2a Bertolotti joint with computed tomography as the most common method for radiographic diagnosis (56%). When comparing long-term pain improvement (>12 months) after fusion (n = 9) versus joint resection (n = 18), more fusion patients reported improvement in their pain (78%) compared to joint resection (28%, P = 0.037). There was not a statistically significant difference in the short-term pain improvement (<6 months) between the fusion (100%) and resection (78%) patients (P = 0.27). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of age, sex, body mass index, presenting symptoms, symptom duration, Bertolotti injection response, follow up, Castellvi subtype, and complications.

Patients with Bertolotti syndrome who underwent surgical fusion across the transitional lumbosacral vertebrae had a higher rate of long-term pain improvement compared to patients who had resection of the abnormal pseudoarticulation.