• Yohannes Ghenbot, Hasan S Ahmad, Daksh Chauhan, Kyle McCloskey, Ryan Turlip, and Jang W Yoon.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
• World Neurosurg. 2023 Feb 1; 170: e425e430e425-e430.

BackgroundLumbar lateral interbody fusion (LLIF) is traditionally performed in 2 stages: placing the interbody cage in the lateral decubitus position, then placing the percutaneous pedicle screw in the prone position. Performing interbody fusion and posterior fixation simultaneously could improve operative efficiency and clinical outcomes associated with longer operative times. We describe the operative steps and report clinical and radiographic outcomes associated with a simultaneous anterior and posterior approach (SAPA) for LLIF.MethodsPatients who underwent SAPA LLIF performed by a single surgeon over 1 year were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic, clinical, and radiographic data were analyzed, an operative guideline was created, and a learning curve was constructed using operative times.ResultsSAPA LLIF was performed in 11 patients. Three patients experienced transient postoperative femoral nerve plexopathy with symptoms of ipsilateral hip flexion weakness and/or anterior thigh numbness; there were no other complications in the cohort. Radiographically, patients achieved significant increases in disc height (8.3 mm vs. 13.5 mm, P = 0.002) and foraminal height (20.2 mm vs. 25.3 mm, P = 0.0001). Patients showed significant improvements in Oswestry Disability Index (52 vs. 27.8, P = 0.002) and Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Physical Function (32.6 vs. 39, P = 0.048) and Pain Interference (64.9 vs. 59.6, P = 0.001) at 3 months. A downward trend in operative time was observed for 1-level SAPA LLIF.ConclusionsSAPA LLIF is a safe approach for LLIF that results in favorable clinical outcomes. This technique can potentially improve operative efficiency further along the course of a surgeon's learning curve.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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