Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion in the Treatment of Mechanical Low Back Pain

A number of options exist for patients with intractable back pain and degenerative disc disease (DDD). Interbody fusion techniques exploit the mechanical advantages of the disc space anteriorly, including a large fusion bed, excellent blood supply and graft compression. Unlike posterior approaches,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSeminars in spine surgery Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 113 - 125
Main Authors Truumees, Eeric, MD, Majid, Kamran, MD, Brkaric, Mario, MD
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Inc 01.06.2008
Subjects
back pain
cages
degenerative disc disease
fusion
interbody fusion
Orthopedics
retroperitoneal
fusion
degenerative disc disease
interbody fusion
back pain
retroperitoneal
cages
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Summary:A number of options exist for patients with intractable back pain and degenerative disc disease (DDD). Interbody fusion techniques exploit the mechanical advantages of the disc space anteriorly, including a large fusion bed, excellent blood supply and graft compression. Unlike posterior approaches, the anterior, retroperitoneal technique affords wide access to the disc space without necessitating significant retraction on the lumbar extensor muscles. Instrumentation options are rapidly advancing, but remain more limited than posterior approaches. The failure rate of stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) remains a concern and a variety of percutaneous or less invasive posterior approaches have been devised to augment ALIF procedures. This article examines the role of stand-alone and posteriorly stabilized ALIF in the management of DDD.
ISSN:1040-7383
1558-4496
DOI:10.1053/j.semss.2008.02.006