|  | Surgeries Operations | Surgeries

Lumbar Fusion Technique

Over time, osteoporosis, spinal fractures and other conditions may cause the spine to weaken or destroy discs in the spine. These conditions can cause severe back pain. When conservative treatment methods (such as pain medications) fail, a spine surgeon may recommend a spinal lumbar fusion surgery. The two common approaches to this surgery are anterior/posterior and posterior. "Anterior" refers to the front of the body, and "posterior" to the back.

  1. Who Determines an Approach?

    • The "lumbar" region of the spine refers to the five vertebrae facing the abdomen. Because this region has the longest vertebrae and carries the most body weight, an injury to the lumbar area may prove extremely painful.

      When surgery is indicated, a surgeon will consider your symptoms and imaging studies to determine where to make incisions as well as what kind of materials to use to repair and restore the spine.

    Anterior/Posterior Lumbar Fusion

    • This surgical approach involves incisions through the abdomen and back. Anterior/posterior lumbar fusion allows the surgeon to stabilize the spine from both angles, front and back. Surgical candidates should have a high level of spinal instability or have undergone a previous unsuccessful surgery.

      The surgeon begins through the abdominal incision, removing the diseased portion of disc, then cutting the ligament that covers the disc. The surgeon then inserts an implant, such as a rod, plate, or metal cage to support the spine. The same instrumentation is used to fit the posterior side of the spine.

      Patients who have more stable spines may require only an anterior approach. This helps to prevent further surgical complications.

    Posterior Approaches

    • Posterior approaches to surgery only involve accessing the spine from the back. While surgeons utilize several different techniques, the most common is posterolateral gutter fusion surgery. This approach places bone graft, a synthetic or natural material that can be formed to replace the bone.

      A second method is the posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) surgery, which places both bone graft as well as a spinal implant, such as a metal cage, into the diseased disc space.

      The final method, transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) surgery, removes and replaces the entire spinal joint---not just the diseased portion of the spine.

Surgeries - Related Articles