• Jae Young Choi, Young Woo Choi, and Kyeong Hoon Sung.
• Department of Neurosurgery, 21st Century Hospital, Seoul, Korea. madi121@yahoo.com
• J Spinal Disord Tech. 2005 Aug 1;18(4):347-52.

ObjectiveA retrospective review was conducted to determine the availability of anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) in selected patients who presented with recurrent lumbar disc herniation.MethodsA total of 22 patients who underwent ALIF were studied clinically and radiographically. The patients were 11 men and 11 women, with a mean age of 46 years (range 23-60 years) at the time of ALIF. The mean follow-up duration was 35 months (range 30-42 months). The fused level at which the ALIF was performed was as follows: L3-L4 (1 patient), L4-L5 (14 patients), and L5-S1 (7 patients). Back pain, leg pain, and functional outcomes were measured both before surgery and at the last follow-up visit. Patient satisfaction index was also assessed.ResultsLeg pain, back pain, and functional status all demonstrated statistically significant improvements between preoperative and postoperative scores by 86%, 77%, and 82%, respectively (P < 0.001). Nineteen of 22 patients (86.3%) were satisfied with their clinical results. Solid fusion was found in all patients.ConclusionsThe authors found ALIF to be an effective procedure with satisfactory clinical results in selected patients with a recurrent disc herniation in the lumbar spine.

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