Abstract
ObjectiveTo investigate the safety and effectiveness of modified facet joint fusion in the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases and compare them with those of posterolateral fusion.MethodsA total of 77 adult patients with lumbar degenerative disease diagnosed from January 2017 to February 2019 were considered for the present retrospective, nonrandomized, and controlled study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the fusion technique used during the surgery: the posterolateral fusion (PLF) group (n = 42) and the modified facet joint fusion (MFF) group (n = 35). The fusion rate, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score, visual analog scale (VAS) score for back pain and leg pain, Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, European Quality of Life–5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) score, length of hospital stay, length of operation, intraoperative blood loss, cost of hospitalization, complications and reoperations were compared between the 2 groups.ResultsAll patients underwent a successful surgery, and all were followed up. No significant differences were found in age, sex, BMI, length of hospital stay, length of operation or cost of hospitalization. There were no significant differences in the preoperative or postoperative ODI or in the VAS, JOA, and EQ-5D scores between the MFF and PLF groups. However, the fusion rate of MFF group was higher than that of the PLF group (P < 0.05). What’s more, the MFF group had less intraoperative blood loss than the PLF group (P < 0.05). Complications related to iatrogenic nerve injury, vascular injury, epidural hematoma, intravertebral infection, and internal fixation did not occur in either group. None of the patients required reoperation.ConclusionsModified facet joint fusion is safe and efficient in the treatment of lumbar degenerative disease. The fusion rate of MFF was higher than PLF. The intraoperative blood loss of MFF was less than that of PLF. In addition, the therapeutic effect of MFF was not worse than that of PLF. Therefore, the MFF technique can be promoted in clinical treatment.
Highlights
With the aggravation of aging, the incidence of lumbar degenerative disease increases gradually
Preoperative data No significant differences were found in age, sex, or BMI score between the 2 groups (P > 0.05; Table 1)
The preoperative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), visual analog scale (VAS), Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) and European Quality of Life–5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) scores from both groups are shown in Table 1; no significant differences were found between the 2 groups (P > 0.05)
Summary
With the aggravation of aging, the incidence of lumbar degenerative disease increases gradually. Lumbar fusion is an important surgical technique for the treatment of this disease [1]. Li et al BMC Surgery (2022) 22:29. Lumbar fusion is widely used in the treatment of a variety of degenerative lumbar diseases, and successful fusion is closely related to the outcome of the operation [2, 3]. Postoperative pseudarthrosis formation can lead to obvious clinical symptoms such as low back pain and often requires reoperation, but spinal surgeons have classically struggled with this condition [4, 5]. To reduce the incidence of pseudarthrosis, various fusion techniques have been applied in lumbar surgery. Posterolateral lumbar fusion (PLF), posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) are the most commonly used [6,7,8,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
