• Antonino Zagra, Laura Scaramuzzo, Fabio Galbusera, Leone Minoia, Marino Archetti, and Fabrizio Giudici.
• Spinal Division I, I.R.C.C.S. Galeazzi Orthopedic Institute, Via R. Galeazzi 4, 20161, Milan, Italy.
• Eur Spine J. 2015 Nov 1; 24 Suppl 7: 924-30.

IntroductionAim of the study was to evaluate the biomechanical stability and the clinical efficacy of a lumbar interbody fusion obtained by single oblique cage implanted by a posterior approach.MethodThrough the realization of three finite element models (FEMs), the biomechanics of POLIF was compared to PLIF and TLIF. Ninety-four patients underwent interbody fusion by POLIF with instrumented posterolateral fusion. Clinical and radiographic outcomes were evaluated at regular intervals for at least 6 months.ResultsThe FEMs showed no statistically significant differences in stability in compression and flexion-extension. Mean preoperative VAS score was 7.1, decreased to 2.1 at follow-up. Mean preoperative SF-12 value was 34.5 %, increased to 75.4 % at follow-up. All patients showed a good fusion rate and no hardware failure.DiscussionPOLIF associated to instrumented posterolateral fusion is a viable and safe surgical technique, which ensures a biomechanical stability similar to other surgical techniques.

29 keywords...

hide…