TLIF--transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.

Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is a relatively new technique of lumbar arthrodesis via posterior transforaminal approach to the disc, indicated mainly in cases of degenerative disc disease, low grade spondylolisthesis and reoperation for disc herniation, specially when there is indication for interbody fusion and posterior decompression. The main advantage of TLIF is that it allows the complete removal of the intervertebral disc through the vertebral foramen, decompression of the spinal canal and vertebral foramen with minimum risk of neural lesion, due to the access being lateral to the nerve roots. In this study, we describe the first 24 cases of TLIF that we have done, which shows to be very safe and efficient in our series, with an relief of pain in 83.3% of patients, great improvements in the life quality in 75% of cases and satisfaction with the surgery in 79.1% of patients.