The mechanism of sciatic pain relief by chemonucleolysis

CT examination of 91 patients after chemonucleolysis

Ninety-one patients underwent a repeat CT examination 2-3 months after chemonucleolysis. In 39 patients the size of the herniation was unchanged; no correlation could be found between the CT examination and the clinical results. One year after chemonucleolysis, 27 of the patients underwent a third CT examination. The majority of the scans revealed a reduction of the herniation, while 16 of the patients still had a hernia. No correlation could be found between the clinical results and the CT examination. We conclude that a repeat CT examination after chemonucleolysis does not permit evaluation of patients with persistent or recurrent radicular pain.