PURPOSE To evaluate the clinical outcomes of cantilever transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (c-TLIF) for upper lumbar diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventeen patients (11 males, 6 females; mean ± SD age: 62 ± 14 years) who underwent c-TLIF using kidney type spacers between 2002 and 2008 were retrospectively evaluated, at a mean follow-up of 44.1 ± 12.3 months (2 year minimum). The primar...

Some cases with lumbar degenerative diseases require multi-level fusion surgeries. At our institute, 27 and 4 procedures of 3- and 4-level fusion were performed out of a total 672 posterior lumbar interfusions (PLIFs) on patients with lumbar degenerative disease from 2005 to 2010. We present 2 osteoporotic patients who developed proximal vertebral body fracture after 4-level fusion. Both cases ...

OBJECTIVE We retrospectively reviewed the results of 100 consecutive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions (TLIFs) performed at one institution. The preoperative diagnoses included degenerative disk disease (55), spondylolisthesis (41; 22 isthmic, 19 degenerative), and degenerative adult scoliosis (4). There were 64 single-level, 33 two-level, 2 three-level, and 1 four-level TLIF (140 levels)...

STUDY DESIGN A subanalysis study. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of multilevel lumbar stenosis with or without degenerative spondylolisthesis compared to single level disease on patients' baseline symptoms and clinical outcomes over time. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Previous studies have demonstrated better clinical outcomes with surgery than nonoperative tre...

results the mean age of patients was 16.7 ± 2.5 years. there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding gender, age, curve before surgery, and percentage of flexibility. the mean curvature was 70 ± 20.7 in the hr and 64.81 ± 19.4 in the cd group before surgery (p = 0.09); and the mean curvature was 40 ± 16.3 and 26.58 ± 15.37 in hr and cd groups respectively af...

STUDY DESIGN A morphometric analysis, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of the lumbar spine. OBJECTIVE To identify the anatomic position of the ventral root and the retroperitoneal vessels in relation to the vertebral body in normally aligned and deformed spines. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The lateral approach to the lumbar spine is a relatively new method for performing interb...

STUDY DESIGN A retrospective case review. PURPOSE To assess the clinical and radiographic outcomes and identify the predictive factors associated with poor clinical outcomes after lumbar spinous process-splitting laminectomy (LSPSL) for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE LSPSL is an effective surgical treatment for LSS. Special care should be taken in patients with degener...

BACKGROUND Degenerative lumbar scoliosis surgery can lead to development of adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) after lumbar or thoracolumbar fusion. Its incidence, risk factors, morbidity and correlation between radiological and clinical symptoms of ASD have no consensus. We evaluated the correlation between the occurrence of radiologic adjacent segment disease and certain imperative parameter...

BACKGROUND Outcomes for minimally invasive scoliosis correction surgery have been reported for mild adult scoliosis. Larger curves historically have been treated with open surgical procedures including facet resections or posterior column osteotomies, which have been associated with high-volume blood loss. Further, minimally invasive techniques have been largely reported in the setting of degen...