Effectiveness of autologous free fat graft and of Spongostan in preventing scar formation after microdiscectomy

Abstract Postoperative scar formation has been implicated as one of the possible cause of persistent or recurrent pain after spine surgery. The efficacy of the autologous free fat graft and the Spongostan gel foam for the prevention of extradural adhesion after lumbar discectomy was investigated by the evaluation of postoperative neurological symptoms and visual analogue scale. In the study 174 patients were involved, average 14.5 months after the intervention. Autologous free fat graft (group I) and Spongostan gel foam (group II) was used randomly by the operations. Patients were operated by the same surgeon, and they were investigated by another independent surgeon. No significant difference was found between the two groups.