Thermovision analysis of the surface of the lower limbs in patients with symptomatic lumbosacral discopathy before and after surgery

Abstract

Mater ia l and methods : Thermograms of the lower limbs were performed before and on the second day after microdiscectomy or microdiscectomy with posterior lumbar interbody fusion. The study group consisted of 37 patients of the Neurosurgery Department, while the control group consisted of 18 healthy people. Comparative analyzes of temperatures on the lower limb with pain with the temperatures on the lower healthy limb in the same patient indicate significant statistical differences in temperature distribution. Based on the thermograms, two region of interest’s (ROI) of the same area were determined on the thigh and the lower leg. The maximum, minimum and average temperatures were determined for those areas.