Comparison of short-term efficacy of minimally invasive surgery transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and posterior lumbar interbody fusion for treating single-segment degenerative lumbar diseases

Objective: To compare the efficiency of Luxor channel-assisted minimally invasive surgery transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for treating single-segment degenerative lumbar diseases. Methods: Clinical data of 34 patients with single-segment degenerative lumbar disease underwent MIS-TLIF in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, postoperative bedtime were recorded and compared with those of 30 patients with the same disease undergoing conventional open PLIF. The low back pain visual analogue score (VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI) and imaging examination were evaluated before operation and during follow up. Results: There was no significant difference in gender, age, clinical diagnosis, lesion location, and VAS and ODI before operation between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time was longer in MIS-TLIF group than that in PLIF group (P<0.05), and the intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume and postoperative bedtime were lower in MIS-TLIF group than those in PLIF group (P<0.01). Both VAS and ODI were lower in MIS-TLIF group than those in PLIF group at month 3 and month 6 after surgery, respectively (P<0.01). The fluoroscopy of lumbar vertebrae during follow-up showed the bony fusion of target level was satisfactory within half a year after surgery in all patients. Conclusion: MIS-TLIF is superior to conventional open PLIF for treating single-segment degenerative lumbar disease at the terms of less intraoperative blood loss, milder muscle damage and low back pain.