The authors provide an overview of the minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) procedure including indications, technique, and complications. This novel technique is a method of achieving circumferential lumbar fusion using a unilateral dorsal approach. Minimally invasive TLIF uses a tubular retractor that is inserted via a muscle-dilating exposure, thereby minimizing t...

BACKGROUND Selecting an interbody cage with appropriate height is one of the key steps in lumbar interbody fusion, and has an important impact on clinical efficacy. How to choose the appropriate height of the cage becomes one of the core problems of lumbar interbody fusion for spine surgeons. However, studies about objective selection criteria on interbody cage height was rare. METHODS One hu...

OBJECTIVES To compare the influence of posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) on adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). METHODS The study was carried out in the Traumatology and Orthopedics Laboratory, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Medical School, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, between December 2013 and November 2014. A norm...

Aortic injury during transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is a rare but severe complication. We experienced aortic injury during TLIF at L3-4 with a 59-year-old woman diagnosed with an adjacent segment disease at L3-4. Severe bleeding occurred during disc space expansion, and the blood pressure dropped to 60/40 mmHg. The patient's vital sign stabilized after compression with gauze and ...

BACKGROUND Lateral approach to lumbar fusion has been gaining popularity in recent years. With increasing awareness of the significance of sagittal balance restoration in spinal surgery, it is important to investigate the potential of this relatively new approach in correcting sagittal deformities in comparison to conventional approaches. The aim of this study was to evaluate sagittal contour c...

Lumbar interbody fusion from a posterior approach affords the advantage of adding interbody fusion to a posterolateral fusion while avoiding the added morbidity of an anterior approach to the spine. Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) provides anterior column support through a single posterolateral approach to the disc space with minimal neural retraction and disruption of only one fa...