Introduction Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MITLIF) allows a surgeon to restore intervertebral disk height, lumbar lordosis, and achieve an indirect decompression of the spinal canal and neural foramen…
Introduction Lumbar fusion procedures have become increasingly common for the treatment of various degenerative lumbar spinal conditions. Along with this upsurge is the increased utilization of interbody implants with or…
Introduction Lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) is a well-accepted treatment for spinal pathologies. Traditionally, LIF is performed using posterior approaches. These open strategies require broad dissection of the paraspinal musculature and…
Introduction The pre-psoas oblique lateral approach to the lumbar spine was first described by Mayer et al. in 1997. At that time, the approach was described only for the L2-5 disk…
Introduction The technique of posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is an important technique in the current spine surgeon’s armamentarium. That being said, the surgery is still defined by its level…
Introduction Since the early 20th century, spinal fusion has been performed as a therapy for both traumatic and degenerative disorders of the spine. Lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) in particular has…
Introduction Each year in the United States more than 250,000 individuals undergo spinal fusions for degenerative lumbar spine pathology. Minimally invasive techniques for posterior lumbar interbody fusion offer the benefits…
Introduction The anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) is a powerful and versatile tool for obtaining interbody fusion for a variety of conditions. Anterior fusion for disk disease was first described…
Introduction Minimally invasive spine surgery has gained much popularity in recent years owing to the reductions in patient morbidity, length of hospital stay, and costs. Although these short-term outcomes have…
Introduction Posterior lumbar interbody fusion techniques have been popular since the 1950. Specifically, posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) was a very popular technique; however, it required removal of both facets…
