Introduction Lumbar spine disorders and the disabling pain associated with these conditions are associated with significant healthcare resource use and costs in the United States. Of these patients, an estimated…

Background A vast majority (up to 80%) of the US population are estimated to experience an episode of low back pain (LBP) during their lifetime. A subset of these individuals…

Introduction Regardless of the presence of lumbar instrumentation, recurrent symptoms after a lumbar decompressive surgery are not uncommon; for example, after undergoing microlumbar discectomy up to 12% of patients may…

Background Revision lumbar spine surgery is predominantly associated with several distinct pathological processes resulting from an initial index surgery. For example, in the treatment of disc herniations, residual stenosis and…

Introduction One major issue when considering reconstructive spinal surgery is medical fitness for surgery. This is defined as an individual’s ability to sustain the physiological stress of surgery and recovery….

Anatomy Lumbar Spine Make-Up The typical vertebral column is composed of 33 vertebrae. The lumbar spine usually has five mobile lumbar vertebrae, denoted as L1–L5. As a group, the lumbar…

Introduction Poor bone health can lead to failure of the primary spinal procedure and precipitate the need for a revision spine surgery. Postoperative complications related to poor bone health include…