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Lumbar Spinal Fusion
When patients have a very high degree of spinal instability, as in the case of spinal fractures or severe degenerative changes, it is often necessary to fuse the front and back of the spine at the same time. Fusing both the front and the back provides a high degree of stability for the spine and a large surface area for the bone fusion to occur. The disc may be approached either as an anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF), transforaminal interbody fusion (TLIF), Lateral interbody fusion (XLIF, DLIF), posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) or Axial interbody fusion (AxiaLIF). This technique provides for very high rates of fusion, but the surgery is quite extensive and carries the risks inherent in both procedures. anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) transforaminal interbody fusion (TLIF), Lateral interbody fusion (XLIF, DLIF),or a posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF).
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For patients with conditions such as degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, and abnormal or excessive motion at a vertebral segment -- lumbar spinal fusion may be recommended. This type of surgery has been proven to be a very effective way to stop the motion at the vertebral segment, which in turn stops the pain associated with these conditions. All fusion surgeries involve adding bone graft to an area of the spine to set up a biological response that causes the bone graft to grow between the two vertebral elements. A lumbar fusion is most effective in conditions involving only one vertebral segment. Most patients will not notice any limitation in motion after a one-level fusion. Fusing two segments is performed occasionally, however, fusion of more than two segments is unlikely to provide pain relief because it removes too much of the normal motion in the back and places too much stress across the remaining joints. Advantages of a lumbar spinal fusion include less scarring of the muscle and less pain for the patient.
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