BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Advantages of a PLIF technique include the opportunity to perform a circumferential fusion from a single approach while also directly visualizing and decompressing the neural elements. Pedicle screw supplementation to bony interbody fusion has been shown to add rigidity to the construct and increase fusion rates, but this comes at the expense of a larger, more lateral exposure, concomitant muscle stripping, greater blood loss, longer hospital stays, and the potential for nerve root injury from misplaced screws.