Transthoracic Approach
47 Transthoracic Approach Brian Kwon and David H. Kim I. Key Points – The transthoracic approach places the major vessels of the thoracic cavity at risk and threatens injury to…
Interspinous Process Decompression
59 Interspinous Process Decompression Ravi Ramachandran and Peter G. Whang I. Key Points – Lumbar stenosis refers to compression of the thecal sac, which may result in lower extremity pain/numbness…
Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF)
56 Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF) Krzysztof B. Siemionow and Kern Singh I. Key Points – Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) offers several potential advantages over other surgical approaches. •…
Lumbar Arthroplasty
60 Lumbar Arthroplasty Ishaq Y. Syed, Barrett I. Woods, and Joon Y. Lee I. Key Points – Lumbar arthroplasty has recently been approved in the United States as an alternative…
Axial Lumbar Interbody Fusion (AxiaLIF)
57 Axial Lumbar Interbody Fusion (AxiaLIF) Elias Dakwar and Juan S. Uribe I. Key Points – Minimally invasive presacral approach for intervertebral discectomy and fusion • Originally described for L5-S1…
Facet Screw Fixation/Fusion
58 Facet Screw Fixation/Fusion Ben J. Garrido and Rick C. Sasso I. Key Points – Pedicle screw fixation historically has been the gold standard for lumbar fusion stabilization. However, criticisms…
Cervical Arthroplasty
31 Cervical Arthroplasty Jau-Ching Wu, Ali A. Baaj, and Praveen V. Mummaneni I. Key Points – Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) remains the gold standard in the surgical management…
Minimally Invasive Lateral Retroperitoneal Trans-Psoas Interbody Fusion (e.g., XLIF, DLIF)
55 Minimally Invasive Lateral Retroperitoneal Trans-Psoas Interbody Fusion (e.g., XLIF, DLIF) Edwin Ramos, Ali A. Baaj, and Juan S. Uribe I. Key Points – Success with this technique relies heavily…
Posterior and Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF/TLIF) (Open)
52 Posterior and Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF/TLIF) (Open) Devin Vikram Amin and Adam S. Kanter I. Key Points – Arthrodesis across one or more vertebral disc spaces is indicated…
Lumbar Laminectomy
51 Lumbar Laminectomy Armen Deukmedjian, Ali A. Baaj, and Juan S. Uribe I. Key Points – An adequate lumbar laminectomy affords good central decompression and lateral gutter decompression, and sets…
