Anterior lumbar inter-body fusion with instrumentation compared with posterolateral fusion for low grade isthmic-spondylolisthesis.

Unlabelled: Spondylolisthesis presenting as low back pain is not an uncommon condition. Many of such patients are treated conservatively. For those that require surgical management, various treatment options are in vogue e.g. Postero-lateral fusion (PLF) with decompression or posterior fusion with instrumentation and anterior lumbar inter-body fusion (ALIF). Each technique has produced satisfactory outcome with benefits and disadvantages.

Aim Of The Study: To compare the outcome of surgical management of low grade spondylolisthesis with two treatments modalities--Postero-lateral fusion (PLF) and Anterior lumbar inter-body fusion (ALIF) with posterior instrumentation in similar patient profile.

Settings And Design: Prospective study to compare the results of two surgical treatment modalities.

Material And Methods: The selected group of patients for surgery based on definite criteria was operated by the same surgeon by two modalities: Postero-lateral fusion with decompression and Anterior Lumbar Inter-body fusion with posterior instrumentation. The outcomes were compared.

Statistical Analysis Used: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

Results: Follow up was done at twelve weekly intervals up to 2 years. Both groups showed good recovery in pain as seen in Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry low back pain scoring. Intra-operative bleeding was observed to be higher in Postero-lateral fusion group. Average length of hospital stay for the patients of PLF group was 6.6 days (Range: 4-7 days) as compared to 12.5 days (Range: 10-16 days) in case of ALIF group. Treatment cost was found to be higher in patients who undergone ALIF with instrumentation.

Conclusions: ALIF with posterior instrumentation in low grade isthmic spondylolisthesis provides satisfactory outcome in patients requiring surgical treatment. The results of pain relief and disability index are comparable to time tested posterolateral fusion. ALIF shows a tendency to faster pain relief and return to activity with less intraoperative blood requirement in low grade isthmic spondylolisthesis.