• Daniela Linhares, Pedro Cacho Rodrigues, Ribeiro da Silva Manuel M Orthopedics Department, Centro Hospitalar São João, Porto, Portugal. Orthopedi, Rui Matos, Vitorino Veludo, Rui Pinto, and Nuno Neves.
• Orthopedics Department, Centro Hospitalar São João, Porto, Portugal. Daniela_linhares@sapo.pt.
• Eur Spine J. 2019 Jul 1; 28 (7): 1743-1749.

PurposeTo describe and analyze the use of the V-rod technique described by Gillet to repair spondylolysis in both early and late postoperative periods.MethodsPatients submitted to surgical correction of lumbar spondylolysis with a V-rod system were selected upon exclusion of adjacent disk degenerative changes and high-grade spondylolisthesis. A preoperative clinical (ODI and VAS) and radiological evaluation was performed, along with assessments on the early (clinical evaluation-up to 1 year) and late (clinical and radiological-at least 10 years) postoperative periods.ResultsTwenty-two patients were included, 21 with L5 spondylolysis. Fifty percent had grade I spondylolisthesis. A significant decrease in ODI and VAS was observed from pre- to early and late post-op evaluation (all p < 0.05) but not during post-op evaluations. Changes from pre- to postoperative of both ODI and VAS were significantly higher than the minimal clinically important difference. Preoperative ODI and VAS were significantly higher in overweight/obese but similar postoperatively. No additional instability was found in late postoperative X-rays. Three patients needed revision surgery, with a survival rate of 81.8% for Gillet instrumentation at a mean follow-up of 687.7 ± 60.0 weeks.ConclusionsSurgical treatment with V-rod system is associated with a significant improvement in ODI and VAS and radiologic stability, with an equal benefit in obese/overweight patients. This study reports for the first time an improvement that is maintained even 10 years after the initial intervention, associated with a low rate of failure. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

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