A comparative study of two reconstruction procedures for osteoporotic vertebral fracture with lumbar spinal stenosis: Posterior lumbar interbody fusion versus posterior and anterior and combined surgery

Unilateral Modified Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion Combined With Contralateral Lamina Fenestration Treating Severe Lumbarspinal Stenosis: A Retrospective Clinical Study

Study design: Retrospective study. Objectives: The traditional PLIF is routinely utilized in severe lumbar spinal stenosis to relief the nerve compression. Nevertheless, the removal of posterior tension-band structure and the denervation and atrophy of the paraspinal muscle affect the clinical efficacy. Therefore, unilateral modified PLIF combined with contralateral fenestration was performed to overcome above-mentioned drawbacks. Methods: 32 modified PLIF and 33 traditional PLIF cases were retrospectively included. Operation time, length of stay (LOS) and blood loss were recorded. VAS of low back pain and leg pain, ODI and Sf-36 score including physical function and body pain were assessed. Fusion rate, lumbar lordosis (LL), intervertebral angle (IVA) and intervertebral height index (IHI) were evaluated radiologically. Results: Modified group possessed less blood loss, shorter operation time and less LOS. Compared with traditional group, the VAS of back pain was lower at 6 months postoperatively (P < .05) and the ODI score was lower at 3 months postoperatively (P < .05) in modified group. Modified group exhibited better physical function 3 months postoperatively and lower body pain 6 months postoperatively in Sf-36 score (P < .05). No statistic difference in LL, IVA, IHI and fusion rate were observed between both groups. Conclusions: Our modified PLIF combining with contralateral fenestration procedure exhibited particular advantages in comparison to traditional PLIF. The preservation of posterior tension-band structure facilitates to less low back pain, low complication rate and early functional recovery.

A triple minimally invasive surgery combination for subacute osteoporotic lower lumbar vertebral collapse with neurological compromise: a potential alternative to the vertebral corpectomy/expandable cage strategy

OBJECTIVE

Acute/subacute osteoporotic vertebral collapses (OVCs) in the lower lumbar spine with neurological compromise, although far less well documented than those in the thoracolumbar junction, may often pose greater treatment challenges. The authors clarified the utility of 3 familiar combined techniques of minimally invasive surgery for this condition as an alternative to the corpectomy/expandable cage strategy.

METHODS

This report included the authors' first 5 patients with more than 2 years (range 27-48 months) of follow-up. The patients were between 68 and 91 years of age, and had subacute painful L4 OVC with neurological compromise and preexisting lumbar spinal stenosis. The authors' single-stage minimally invasive surgery combination consisted of the following: step 1, balloon kyphoplasty for the L4 OVC to restore its strength, followed by L4-percutaneous pedicle screw (PPS) placement with patients in the prone position; step 2, tubular lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) at the adjacent disc space involved with endplate injury, with patients in the lateral position; and step 3, supplemental PPS-rod fixation with patients in the prone position.

RESULTS

Estimated blood loss ranged from 20 to 72 mL. Neither balloon kyphoplasty-related nor LLIF-related potentially serious complications occurred. With CT measurements at the 9 LLIF levels, the postoperative increases averaged 3.5 mm in disc height and 3.7 mm in bilateral foraminal heights, which decreased by only 0.2 mm and 0 mm at the latest evaluation despite their low bone mineral densities, with a T-score of -3.8 to -2.6 SD. Canal compromise by fracture retropulsion decreased from 33% to 23% on average. As indicated by MRI measurements, the dural sac progressively enlarged and the ligamentum flavum increasingly shrank over time postoperatively, consistent with functional improvements assessed by the physician-based, patient-centered measures.

CONCLUSIONS

The advantages of this method over the corpectomy/expandable cage strategy include the following: 1) better anterior column stability with a segmentally placed cage, which reduces stress concentration at the cage footplate-endplate interface as an important benefit for patients with low bone mineral density; 2) indirect decompression through ligamentotaxis caused by whole-segment spine lengthening with LLIF, pushing back both the retropulsed fragments and the disc bulge anteriorly and unbuckling the ligamentum flavum to diminish its volume posteriorly; and 3) eliminating the need for segmental vessel management and easily bleeding direct decompressions. The authors' recent procedural modification eliminated step 3 by performing loose PPS-rod connections in step 1 and their tight locking after LLIF in step 2, reducing to only once the number of times the patient was repositioned.

Decompression and fusion surgery for osteoporotic vertebral fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations

INTODUCTION

Osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF) are common due to aging populations. Their clinical management remains controversial. Although conservative approaches are sufficient in most cases, there are certain conditions where decompression or fusion surgery are necessary. This manuscript aims to clarify the indications and types of surgeries for OVF.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

A Medline and Pubmed search spanning the period between 2010 and 2020 was performed using the keywords "osteoporotic vertebral fractures and decompression surgery" and "osteoporotic vertebral fractures and fusion surgery". In addition, we reviewed up-to-date information on decompression and fusion in osteoporotic vertebral fracture (OVF) to reach an agreement in two consensus meetings of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Spine Committee that was held in January and February 2021. The Delphi method was utilized to improve the validity of the questionnaire.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

A total of 19 studies examining decompression and fusion surgery in OVF were reviewed. Literature supports the statement that decompression and fusion surgery are necessary for progressive neurological deficits after OVF. The Spine Section of the German Society for Orthopedics and Trauma (DGOU) classification revealed that it might help make surgical decisions. We also noted that in patients planning to undergo surgery to correct significant kyphosis after OVF, several techniques, including multilevel fixation, cement augmentation, preservation of sagittal balance, and avoiding termination at the apex of kyphosis are necessary to prevent complications. Additionally, it became clear that there is no consensus to choose the type of open surgery (anterior, posterior, combined, using cement or bone or vertebral body cage, the levels, and kind of instrumentation). The current literature indicated that implant failure in the osteoporotic spine is a common complication, and many techniques have been described to prevent implant failure in the osteoporotic spine. However, the superiority of one method over another is unclear.

CONCLUSIONS

Open surgery for osteoporotic vertebral fractures should be considered if neurologic deficits and significant painful kyphosis. The apparent indications of surgery and most ideal surgical technique for OVF remain unclear in the literature; therefore, the decision must be individualized.

Minimally invasive anteroposterior combined surgery using lateral lumbar interbody fusion without corpectomy for treatment of lumbar spinal canal stenosis associated with osteoporotic vertebral collapse

OBJECTIVE

Various reconstructive surgical procedures have been described for lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) with osteoporotic vertebral collapse (OVC); however, the optimal surgery remains controversial. In this study, the authors aimed to report the clinical and radiographic outcomes of their novel, less invasive, short-segment anteroposterior combined surgery (APCS) that utilized oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) and posterior fusion without corpectomy to achieve decompression and reconstruction of anterior support in patients with LSCS-OVC.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, 20 patients with LSCS-OVC (mean age 79.6 years) underwent APCS and received follow-up for a mean of 38.6 months. All patients were unable to walk without support owing to severe low-back and leg pain. Cleft formations in the fractured vertebrae were identified on CT. APCS was performed on the basis of a novel classification of OVC into three types. In type A fractures with a collapsed rostral endplate, combined monosegment OLIF and posterior spinal fusion (PSF) were performed between the collapsed and rostral adjacent vertebrae. In type B fractures with a collapsed caudal endplate, combined monosegment OLIF and PSF were performed between the collapsed and caudal adjacent vertebrae. In type C fractures with severe collapse of both the rostral and caudal endplates, bisegment OLIF and PSF were performed between the rostral and caudal adjacent vertebrae, and pedicle screws were also inserted into the collapsed vertebra. Preoperative and postoperative clinical and radiographical status were reviewed.

RESULTS

The mean number of fusion segments was 1.6. Walking ability improved in all patients, and the mean Japanese Orthopaedic Association score for recovery rate was 65.7%. At 1 year postoperatively, the mean preoperative Oswestry Disability Index of 65.6% had significantly improved to 21.1%. The mean local lordotic angle, which was -5.9° preoperatively, was corrected to 10.5° with surgery and was maintained at 7.7° at the final follow-up. The mean corrective angle was 16.4°, and the mean correction loss was 2.8°.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors have proposed using minimally invasive, short-segment APCS with OLIF, tailored to the morphology of the collapsed vertebra, to treat LSCS-OVC. APCS achieves neural decompression, reconstruction of anterior support, and correction of local alignment.