INTRODUCTION: Spinal fusion techniques including anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) have been used to alleviate chronic low back pain and segmental instability. Supplemental fixation using pedicle screws, translaminar screws, facet screws, anterior plates or spinous process plates is often used to increase the stability of the ALIF construct to enhance fusion and prevent subsidence and mig...

STUDY DESIGN A systematic review. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion (sa-ALIF) for the treatment of symptomatic isthmic spondylolisthesis of L5-S1 by assessing the level of available clinical and radiographic evidence. METHODS A systematic review utilizing Medline, Embase, and Scopus online databases...

BACKGROUND There is limited information on clinical outcomes after anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) based on the indications for surgery. OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical and radiological outcomes of ALIF for each surgical indication. METHODS This prospective clinical study included 125 patients who underwent ALIF over a 2-year period. The patients were evaluated preoperatively and ...

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 Retrospective study. PURPOSE The aims of the current study are to evaluate the minimum 10-year follow-up clinical results of anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) for degenerative spondylolisthesis. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE ALIF has been widely used as a treatment regimen in the management of lumbar spondylolisthesis. Still much controversy exists regarding the factors that aff...

STUDY DESIGN The authors performed a retrospective controlled study of patients diagnosed with lumbar degenerative disc disease who received surgical intervention (either total disc replacement [TDR]/Activ-L or anterior lumbar interbody fusion [ALIF]) at a single tertiary-care hospital from 2007-2010. OBJECTIVES To investigate the clinical outcomes after TDR in comparison with ALIF for surgic...

OBJECT The authors retrospectively reviewed a series of 35 patients with mechanical low-back or one- to two-level discogenic pain; the patients underwent lumbar interbody fusion in which threaded cortical bone dowels (TCBDs) were placed to treat degenerative disc disease. The purpose of the study was to delineate fusion rates and outcome data in this series of patients. METHODS The series was...

STUDY DESIGN This is a prospective cohort study examining the results and radiographic characteristics of anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) using femoral ring allografts (FRAs) and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2). This was compared to a historical control ALIF using FRAs with autologous iliac crest bone graft (ICBG). OBJECTIVE To determine whether the use of rhB...

BACKGROUND Major factors prompted the development of minimally invasive (MIS) extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF; NuVasive Inc., San Diego, CA, USE) for the thoracic/lumbar spine. These include providing interbody stabilization and indirect neural decompression while avoiding major visceral/vessel injury as seen with anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF), and to avert trauma to paraspinal...