OBJECT The objectives of this study were to compare the biomechanical effects of five lumbar reconstruction models on the adjacent segment and to analyze the effects of three factors: construct stiffness, sagittal alignment, and the number of fused segments. METHODS Nondestructive flexion-extension tests were performed by applying pure moments to 10 calf spinal (L3-S1) specimens. One-segment ...

STUDY DESIGN Multicenter analysis of two groups of patients surgically treated for degenerative L4 unstable spondylolisthesis. PURPOSE To compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of posterolateral fusion (PLF) and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for degenerative L4 unstable spondylolisthesis. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Surgery for lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis is widely p...

A theoretical model for instantaneous PLIF measurements of mole fraction in a shock tunnel ow with pressure gradients and large temperature variations is presented. The model determined the optimum excitation frequency which provided PLIF signal intensity proportional to freestream mole fraction. Experimental PLIF images of a two-dimensional slot scramjet injector with and without hydrogen fuel...

BACKGROUND Few studies compared radiographic and clinical outcomes between posterior dynamic stabilization (PDS) and posterior lumbar intervertebral fusion (PLIF) in treating degenerative disc disease (DDD). METHODS A total of 176 consecutive patients who underwent posterior instrumented spinal surgery for degenerative disc disease between January 2007 and January 2009 were prospectively divi...

BACKGROUND To investigate how unilateral cage-instrumented posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) affects the three-dimensional flexibility in degenerative disc disease by comparing the biomechanical characteristics of unilateral and bilateral cage-instrumented PLIF. METHODS Twelve motion segments in sheep lumbar spine specimens were tested for flexion, extension, axial rotation, and latera...

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...

BACKGROUND Placenta immunomodulatory ferritin (PLIF) cDNA was recently cloned from the human placenta, where it is expressed in syncytiotrophoblast and decidual mononuclear cells. PLIF and its subcloned bioactive domain (C48), expressed in Escherichia coli, are immunosuppressive proteins and induce pronounced IL-10 production in vitro and in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS PLIF serum level, measure...

Although spondylolisthesis was traditionally treated with posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF), minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) was recently proposed as an alternative treatment for spondylolisthesis. However, no studies have focused on the comparison of these 2 techniques' outcome on spondylolisthesis.The operative reports and perioperative data of pati...

As the population ages, more elderly patients suffer from spinal stenosis requiring lumbar fusion. However, there are few and conflicting results regarding the clinical outcome of lumbar fusion. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficiency of posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in over 75-year-old patients and analyze the relative effectiveness of lumbar spinal fusion...

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy between transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis. A total of 62 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis were treated at our hospital from 2010 to 2013. These patients were divided into a TLIF group that included 36 patients (mean age: 60 years) and...