Iatrogenic muscle damage in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and adjacent segment degeneration: a comparative finite element analysis of open and minimally invasive surgeries.

Purpose: Lumbar procedures for Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) range from open (OS) to minimally invasive surgeries (MIS) to preserve paraspinal musculature. We quantify the biomechanics of cross-sectional area (CSA) reduction of paraspinal muscles following TLIF on the adjacent segments.

Methods: ROM was acquired from a thoracolumbar ribcage finite element (FE) model across each FSU for flexion-extension.