Morphometric anatomy of the lumbar sympathetic trunk with respect to the anterolateral approach to lumbar interbody fusion: a cadaver study.

Background: An approach to lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) utilizing an oblique corridor anterior to the psoas muscle was first described by Mayer in 1997 and subsequently by other authors. The only consistent structure of note in this corridor is the lumbar sympathetic trunk (LST), which at times must be mobilized in order to perform a discectomy and interbody fusion, thereby placing the LST at risk. This study was designed to describe the morphometric anatomy of the LST in relation to surgically relevant landmarks for the anterolateral approach to the lumbar spine at L3/L4 to L5/S1.