Posterior lumbar interbody fusion with cortical bone trajectory screw fixation versus posterior lumbar interbody fusion using traditional pedicle screw fixation for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis: a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE Several biomechanical studies have demonstrated the favorable mechanical properties of the cortical bone trajectory (CBT) screw. However, no reports have examined surgical outcomes of posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) with CBT screw fixation for degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) compared with those after PLIF using traditional pedicle screw (PS) fixation. The purposes of this study were thus to elucidate surgical outcomes after PLIF with CBT screw fixation for DS and to compare these results with those after PLIF using traditional PS fixation. METHODS Ninety-five consecutive patients underwent PLIF with CBT screw fixation for DS (CBT group; mean followup 35 months). A historical control group consisted of 82 consecutive patients who underwent PLIF with traditional PS fixation (PS group; mean follow-up 40 months). Clinical status was assessed using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale score. Fusion status was assessed by dynamic plain radiographs and CT. The need for additional surgery and surgery-related complications was also evaluated. RESULTS The mean JOA score improved significantly from 13.7 points before surgery to 23.3 points at the latest follow-up in the CBT group (mean recovery rate 64.4%), compared with 14.4 points preoperatively to 22.7 points at final follow-up in the PS group (mean recovery rate 55.8%; p < 0.05). Solid spinal fusion was achieved in 84 patients from the CBT group (88.4%) and in 79 patients from the PS group (96.3%, p > 0.05). Symptomatic adjacent-segment disease developed in 3 patients from the CBT group (3.2%) compared with 9 patients from the PS group (11.0%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS PLIF with CBT screw fixation for DS provided comparable improvement of clinical symptoms with PLIF using traditional PS fixation. However, the successful fusion rate tended to be lower in the CBT group than in the PS group, although the difference was not statistically significant between the 2 groups.

[1]  Tomio Yamamoto,et al.  Clinical and Radiological Results of PLIF for Degenerative Spondylolisthesis , 1998 .

[2]  Paul Park,et al.  Adjacent Segment Disease after Lumbar or Lumbosacral Fusion: Review of the Literature , 2004, Spine.

[3]  C. Puttlitz,et al.  Cortical bone trajectory for lumbar pedicle screws. , 2009, The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society.

[4]  Y. Umeda,et al.  Midline Lumbar Fusion with Cortical Bone Trajectory Screw , 2014, Neurologia medico-chirurgica.

[5]  T. Asazuma,et al.  In Vivo Analysis of Insertional Torque During Pedicle Screwing Using Cortical Bone Trajectory Technique , 2014, Spine.

[6]  K. Yone,et al.  Indication of Fusion for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis in Elderly Patients and Its Significance , 1996, Spine.

[7]  M. Hongo,et al.  Short-Term Results of Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion Using Pedicle Screw with Cortical Bone Trajectory Compared with Conventional Trajectory , 2015, Asian spine journal.

[8]  A. Patwardhan,et al.  Effect of Physiological Loads on Cortical and Traditional Pedicle Screw Fixation , 2014, Spine.

[9]  M. Helgeson,et al.  Does Superior-Segment Facet Violation or Laminectomy Destabilize the Adjacent Level in Lumbar Transpedicular Fixation?: An In Vitro Human Cadaveric Assessment , 2008, Spine.

[10]  N. Crawford,et al.  Biomechanics of Lumbar Cortical Screw–Rod Fixation Versus Pedicle Screw–Rod Fixation With and Without Interbody Support , 2013, Spine.

[11]  Ho-Joong Kim,et al.  The Biomechanical Effect of Pedicle Screws' Insertion Angle and Position on the Superior Adjacent Segment in 1 Segment Lumbar Fusion , 2012, Spine.