Is instrumented pedicle fixation of the lumbar vertebrae used on too large a scale?--thoughts on indication

Abstract

The use of pedicle screw fixation can be considered as a mile-stone in developments in spinal surgery in the past decade because of its benefits in the field of correction of spinal deformities due to scoliosis, following fractures, in the treatment of spinal tumours and in some cases of spondylolisthesis. Their widest use, however, has been in the treatment of degenerative disc disease for which its continued use--not only because of a higher morbidity--must be brought into question.