Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in degenerative spondylolisthesis

Abstract

Introduction Spinal fusion surgery is a common technique used to treat degenerative lumbar pathologies including disc herniation with instability, spinal stenosis, and degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS). Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is a common surgical procedure for treatment of DS. Aim We aimed to assess the outcomes of TLIF in DS. Patients and methods This study was conducted on 15 patients treated for DS treated with TLIF. A written informed consent was taken from all participants after proper explanation of the study. The study assessed perioperative results related to the operative procedure such as blood loss, operation time, hospital stay, and complications. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) questionnaire was filled for functional evaluation, and the visual analog scale was used to assess pain preoperatively and postoperatively. Result A total of 15 cases were included. The mean age of the included cases was 53.67 years, the mean BMI was 26.73, 53.3% of cases were female, and 33.3% of patients were smokers. There was a significant decrease in visual analog scale ODI after operation. Regarding complications, 73.3% had no early complications but 13.3% had wound infection and 6.7% had positioning neuropathy and postoperative hematoma. Late complications were founded in 33.3% in the form of adjacent segment disease in 13.3%, arthrodesis in 13.3%, and fusion failure in 6.7%. Conclusion This study shows that TLIF is an effective procedure in surgical management of DS. The TLIF gives better results regarding reduction of low back pain and leg pain, as well as reduction in ODI score in early follow-ups and similar results in late follow-ups.