Minimally invasive anterior lumbar interbody fusion followed by percutaneous translaminar facet screw fixation in elderly patients.

Object: The purpose of this study was to determine whether anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) followed by percutaneous translaminar facet screw fixation is effective in elderly patients with degenerative spinal disease.

Methods: Twenty-nine patients > 60 years old who underwent ALIF with percutaneous translaminar facet screw fixation from January to June 2004 were studied. The radiological and clinical data of these patients were collected and analyzed.

Minimally invasive anterior lumbar interbody fusion followed by percutaneous pedicle screw fixation for isthmic spondylolisthesis.

Background Context: Most surgeons have thought that posterior decompression is necessary to treat isthmic spondylolisthesis with leg pain. However, the surgical procedure not only requires wide muscle dissection but can also lead to spinal instability. The authors' treatment concept for isthmic spondylolisthesis is one-stage anterior reduction and posterior stabilization with minimally invasive surgical procedure without touching the spinal thecal sac and nerve.

Comparative study of laparoscopic L5-S1 fusion versus open mini-ALIF, with a minimum 2-year follow-up.

Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) is a widely accepted tool for management of painful degenerative disc disease. Recently, the modern laparoscopic surgical technique has been combined with ALIF procedure, with good early postoperative results being reported. However, the benefit of laparoscopic fusion is poorly defined compared with its open counterpart.

Partial disc replacement with the PDN prosthetic disc nucleus device: early clinical results.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the PDN prosthetic disc nucleus device for the treatment of chronic discogenic back pain caused by degenerative disc disease. Among the 48 patients who underwent nucleus replacement surgery from January 2001 through May 2002, 46 patients were followed >6 months. The mean Oswestry Disability Index score was 58.

Guide device for percutaneous placement of translaminar facet screws after anterior lumbar interbody fusion. Technical note.

Because the degree of immediate stabilization provided by cage-assisted anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) has been shown by several studies to be inadequate, supplementary posterior fixation, such as that created by translaminar or transpedicle screw fixation, is necessary. In this study, the authors studied the ALIF-augmentation procedure in which a special guide device is used to place percutaneously translaminar facet screws in 18 patients with degenerative lumbar disease. The minimum follow-up period was 1 month (mean 6 months, range 1-13 months).