Mitomycin protection of peridural fibrosis in lumbar disc surgery.

Object. In this prospective, randomized clinical study the authors sought to evaluate the effects of locally applied mitomycin C on peridural fibrosis during lumbar microdiscectomy. Methods. Patients undergoing lumbar disc surgery were randomly divided into 2 groups. Thirty patients had 1 mg/ml mitomycin C applied at the site of discectomy for 5 minutes, and 30 age- and sex-matched patients underwent lumbar microdiseectomy without mitomycin C application as the control group. The groups were compared for degree of postoperative neurological function, radicular/back pain, and degree of peridural fibrosis on MR imaging 6 months after the operation. Results. The median follow-up was 18 months. No serious drug adverse effects and no clinically significant laboratory adverse effects were reported in patients in the mitomycin C group. Patients in both groups showed similar clinical recoveries postoperatively. On postoperative evaluation of the MR images, pain scores, and neurological function, patients given mitomycin C have shown no reduction of peridural fibrosis either clinically or radiographically. Conclusions. Mitomycin C is easy to use and safe in patients undergoing lumbar microdiscectomy. However, no benefit was observed either clinically or radiographically in this study.