Introduction
 The extreme lateral interbody fusion technique (XLIF) is a modification of the retroperitoneal approach to the lumbar spine. This is a minimally invasive technique allowing direct access to the disc space without peritoneal or posterior paraspinal musculature damage. Nevertheless, the retroperitoneal part of the colon can be injured in this operative technique. To our knowledge, a...

Alternatives to conventional rigid fusion have been proposed for several conditions related to degenerative disc disease when nonoperative treatment has failed. Semirigid fixation, in the form of dynamic stabilization or PEEK rods, is expected to provide compression under loading as well as an intermediate level of stabilization. This study systematically examines both the load-sharing characte...

Introduction Lumbar spinal stenosis is narrowing of the central spinal canal, lateral recess or the neural foramen. After initial recognition of spinal stenosis in 1802, a gradual understanding evolved over the next 150 years.1-4 Harris and Macnab described the importance of disc degeneration in the pathogenesis of stenosis.5 Macnab highlighted the lateral recess beneath the posterior facet joi...

STUDY DESIGN In-vivo ovine model of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVD) to evaluate treatment with stem cells. OBJECTIVE To determine if stem cells delivered to the nucleus pulposus (NP) or the annulus fibrosus (AF) of degenerated lumbar IVDs leads to improved indices of disc health. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Previous studies assessing the efficacy of stem cell injections into degenerat...

In specific genetic backgrounds, a mutation in the tuh-3 gene results in the homeotic transformation of head structures to either leg disc derivatives or structures normally found in the extreme posterior end of wild-type animals. The origins of the homeotic structures were mapped to defined positions in the eye-antennal imaginal disc by transplanting abnormal regions of discs isolated from tuh...

PURPOSE Cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) is the light-regulated effector enzyme of vertebrate rods. Upon photo-activation of rhodopsin followed by activation of transducin/GTP, PDE rapidly hydrolyzes 3', 5'-cyclic GMP (cGMP) to 5'-GMP, which results in closure of cGMP-dependent ion channels and generation of a nerve signal. In the rod photoreceptors, PDE is entirely localized within the rod o...

Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is a minimally invasive modality used to treat patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy secondary to prolapsed intervertebral disc or spinal canal stenosis. In this case report, we describe the management of a patient with chronic lumbosacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation which was seen as a right paracentral disc prot...

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 allo...

AIM The aim of this study was to compare the complication rate of traditional minimally invasive anterior with the new minimally invasive lateral trans-psoatic retroperitoneal approaches to the intervertebral discs at levels T12-L5. METHODS A review of all cases of minimally invasive anterior (ALIF) and lateral (XLIF) intervertebral disc surgery at levels T12-L5, treated at the Department of ...

STUDY DESIGN Level 4 retrospective review. PURPOSE To compare the radiographic and clinical outcomes between posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) with posterior segmental spinal instrumentation (SSI) for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Both PLIF and LLIF have been performed for degenerative spondylolisthesis with g...