{"id":"89d614e3-8b06-4cad-9ab5-c1894079cdea","slug":"facet-joint-thickness-and-lumbar-instability-documented-on-myelo-computed-tomography-studies-in-patients-with-lumbar-degenerative-disease","title":"Facet joint thickness and lumbar instability documented on myelo-computed tomography studies in patients with lumbar degenerative disease","authors":["Shunsuke Ikeda","Hidetoshi Ooigawa","Tatsuki Kimura","Hideki Tanabe","Hiroki Kurita"],"abstract":"Background: Various indicators of vertebral instability in patients with lumbar degenerative disease can be identified in myelo-computed tomography (CT) studies. Methods: Of 120 patients, 45 with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (LDS; 53 lumbar lesions) and 75 with lumbar spinal stenosis alone (LSS; 105 lesions) (2015–2019) myelo-CT studies and surgery confirmed the presence of lumbar instability. Myelo-CT findings indicative of instability included facet joint thickness (FJT), fluid in the facet joint, facet tropism, and air in the facet and/or disc. Results: For the 120 study patients, FJT was significantly elevated in both the LDS and LSS groups. Conclusion: FJT on myelo-CT is more specific for lumbar instability than other imaging parameters when evaluating LDS. An increase in FJT suggests vertebral instability likely warranting fusion.","thumbnailUrl":"https://sni-digital-videos.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/89d614e3-8b06-4cad-9ab5-c1894079cdea/featured/hero-1781560010334.png","publishDate":"2023-09-22T00:00:00.000Z","doi":"10.25259/SNI_652_2023","categories":["Spine","Original Article"],"fullTextUrl":"https://surgicalneurologyint.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/12567/SNI-14-342.pdf"}