• Chang Kyu Lee, Jeong Yoon Park, and Ho Yeol Zhang.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Gangnam Severance Spine Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2010 Sep 1;48(3):219-24.

ObjectiveA minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF) has recently been introduced. However, MIS TLIF is a technically challenging procedure. The authors performed retrospective analysis about MIS TLIF using a single interbody cage.MethodsTwenty-eight consecutive patients were treated by MIS TLIF. Of these 28 patients, 20 patients were included in this retrospective study. Perioperative, clinical, and radiologic outcomes were assessed. Clinical outcomes were assessed using Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Visual Analogue Scores (VAS). Fusion rates and cross-sections of operated spinal canals were assessed by CT.ResultsTwelve patients underwent MIS TLIF at one segment and 8 patients at two segments (L3/4: 4, L4/5: 17, L5/S1: 7). Operation time for a single segment was 131.7 min and for two segment was 201.4 min, and corresponding blood losses were 208.3 mL and 481.2 mL, respectively. ODI and VAS scores were significantly improved at 6 months postop (ODI from 30.32 to 15. 54, VAS from 7.80 to 2.20, p = 0.001). Twenty-two segments (78.6%) achieved grade I fusion, 4 segments (14.3%) achieved grade II, 2 segments (7.1%) achieved grade III and 0 segments achieved grade IV at 12 months. Postoperatively at 12 months, spinal canal cross sectional areas at disc spaces significantly increased from 157.5 to 294.3 mm(2) (p = 0.012).ConclusionMIS TLIF achieved good clinical outcomes and high fusion rates. Our findings show that MIS TLIF performed with a single interbody cage and a tubular retractor system can be used as a standard MIS TLIF technique.

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