{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,7]],"date-time":"2026-06-07T12:18:01Z","timestamp":1780834681663,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,1]],"date-time":"2021-11-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1635724800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:bold>Introduction:<\/jats:bold> Redundant nerve roots (RNRs) are common finding in lumbar spinal stenosis patients. Up to now, many relevant studies were carried out on the mechanism, pathogenic factors, and clinical features of redundant nerve roots. However, there are few studies on the surgical methods. In this study, posterior lumbar interbody fusion and internal fixations were used in 30 patients with RNRs in our hospital. Moreover, we also proposed new ideas about different types and subtypes of RNRs using patterns and their corresponding MRI images.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Methods:<\/jats:bold> Thirty patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and RNRs were enrolled in this study and underwent surgery between January 2009 and December 2014. Redundant nerve roots are identified as elongated, tortuous, or serpiginous nerve roots present in the subarachnoid space on sagittal T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. Patients were treated with posterior decompression, intervertebral disc resection, and instrumented interbody fusion. The age, sex, disease course, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, operative segments were recorded. Outcome measures recorded to identify symptom improvement included pre-operative and post-operative visual analog scale (VAS), pre-operative and post-operative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and pre-operative and post-operative Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold> VAS back pain, VAS leg pain VAS, ODI, and JOA with standard deviations were 6.4 \u00b1 0.9, 7.1 \u00b1 0.8, 43.0 \u00b1 2.2, and 10.3 \u00b1 2.6, respectively. At 3 months post-operatively, VAS back pain, VAS leg pain VAS, ODI, and JOA with standard deviations were 1.4 \u00b1 0.5, 1.6 \u00b1 0.6, 13.0 \u00b1 1.6, and 25.0 \u00b1 1.8, respectively. Nerve redundancy resolved in all cases on post-operative MRI.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusion:<\/jats:bold> Posterior lumbar laminectomy and instrumented interbody fusion relieves low back and leg pain in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and RNRs and can alleviate the tortuous appearance of the cauda equina in the decompressed segment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2021.628928","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,1]],"date-time":"2021-11-01T05:08:41Z","timestamp":1635743321000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Clinical Features and Efficacy Analysis of Redundant Nerve Roots"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Jianzhong","family":"Xu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yong","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"230","DOI":"10.1302\/0301-620X.36B2.230","article-title":"A radicular syndrome from developmental narrowing of the lumbar vertebral canal","author":"Verbiest","year":"1954","journal-title":"J Bone Joint Surg"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"391","DOI":"10.3171\/jns.1968.28.4.0391","article-title":"Serpentine myelographic defect caused by a redundant nerve root","volume":"28","author":"Cressman","year":"1968","journal-title":"J Neurosurg."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"521","DOI":"10.1097\/00006123-198904000-00006","article-title":"Redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina: clinical aspects and consideration of pathogenesis","volume":"24","author":"Suzuki","year":"1989","journal-title":"Neurosurgery"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1097\/00007632-198501000-00012","article-title":"Redundant nerve roots in patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis","volume":"10","author":"Tsuji","year":"1985","journal-title":"Spine"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"253","DOI":"10.1016\/j.berh.2009.11.001","article-title":"Lumbar spinal stenosis","volume":"24","author":"Genevay","year":"2010","journal-title":"Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.3171\/jns.1990.72.1.0071","article-title":"Lumbar spinal stenosis: postoperative results in terms of preoperative posture-related pain","volume":"72","author":"Ganz","year":"1990","journal-title":"J Neurosurg."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"204","DOI":"10.1016\/j.surneu.2007.11.008","article-title":"The redundant nerve root syndrome of the cauda equina","volume":"18","author":"Hakan","year":"2008","journal-title":"Turk Neurosurg."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1590\/S0100-39842012000300007","article-title":"Redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina: review of the literature","volume":"45","author":"Nogueira-Barbosa","year":"2012","journal-title":"Radiol Brasil."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.3171\/SPI-07\/07\/027","article-title":"Clinical significance of the redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina documented on magnetic resonance imaging","volume":"7","author":"Ono","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Neurosurg Spine."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"504","DOI":"10.3171\/jns.1973.38.4.0504","article-title":"Myelographic block caused by redundant lumbar nerve root. Case report","volume":"38","author":"Gulati","year":"1973","journal-title":"J Neurosurg."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"311","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01886678","article-title":"Redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina. A case report","volume":"33","author":"Pau","year":"1976","journal-title":"Acta Neurochirur."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"252","DOI":"10.3171\/jns.1970.32.2.0252","article-title":"The \u201credundant\u201d or \u201cknotted\u201d nerve root: a clue to spondylotic cauda equina radiculopathy. Case report","volume":"32","author":"George","year":"1970","journal-title":"J Neurosurg."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1337","DOI":"10.1097\/00007632-199211000-00013","article-title":"Redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina caused by lumbar spinal canal stenosis","volume":"17","author":"Suzuki","year":"1992","journal-title":"Spine"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1007\/s11420-006-9006-3","article-title":"A novel method for the quantitative evaluation of lumbar spinal stenosis","volume":"2","author":"Zheng","year":"2006","journal-title":"HSS J"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102","DOI":"10.1097\/00007632-197903000-00003","article-title":"A more precise diagnosis for low-back pain","volume":"4","author":"Kirkaldy-Willis","year":"1979","journal-title":"Spine"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.2106\/00004623-198769020-00027","article-title":"Degenerative stenosis of the lumbar spine","volume":"69","author":"Spengler","year":"1987","journal-title":"J Bone Joint Surg Am"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"324","DOI":"10.1007\/s00586-016-4668-0","article-title":"The clinical course of pain and disability following surgery for spinal stenosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies","volume":"26","author":"Fritsch","year":"2017","journal-title":"Eur Spine J."},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clineuro.2015.11.016","article-title":"Post-surgical functional recovery, lumbar lordosis, and range of motion associated with MR-detectable redundant nerve roots in lumbar spinal stenosis","volume":"140","author":"Chen","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin Neurol Neurosurg"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.4329\/wjr.v13.i1.29","article-title":"Magnetic resonance imaging findings of redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina","volume":"13","author":"Gke","year":"2021","journal-title":"World J Radiol."},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wneu.2017.05.103","article-title":"A meta-analysis on the clinical significance of redundant nerve roots in symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis","volume":"105","author":"Cong","year":"2017","journal-title":"World Neurosurg."},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"236","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcm.2017.02.001","article-title":"Redundant nerve root in a patient with chronic lumbar degenerative canal stenosis","volume":"16","author":"Villafa\u00f1e","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Chiropractic Med."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Surgery"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsurg.2021.628928\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,1]],"date-time":"2021-11-01T05:08:45Z","timestamp":1635743325000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsurg.2021.628928\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,1]]},"references-count":21,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fsurg.2021.628928"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fsurg.2021.628928","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-875X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-875X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,1]]},"article-number":"628928"}}