Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with unilateral pedicle screw fixation (UNILF): outcomes at 7 years

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Spine Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To assess clinical, functional and radiographical results of one-level minimally invasive transforaminal interbody fusion with unilateral pedicle screw fixation (UNILIF) in the treatment of stable lumbar degenerative diseases with a minimum of 5 years of follow-up.

Material and method

From January 2012 to December 2016, clinical and radiological data of patients with degenerative lumbar disease managed by UNILIF were prospectively collected. Patients with a follow-up that ended before 5 years were excluded. SF-12, Oswestry disability index (ODI) and visual analog scale (VAS) were collected preoperatively, at 2 years and at the last follow-up. A full-spine standing radiograph was performed at each follow-up appointment.

Results

Mean operative time was 74.7 (± 19) minutes, mean blood loss was 131.1 (± 207) ml and mean follow-up was 7.5 (± 1.7) years. All functional scores and VAS were significantly improved between the preoperative and the 2 years postoperative. Between the 2 years postoperative and the last follow-up ODI and VAS continued to significantly improved. Fusion rate was 98.6% on radiographic analysis at follow-up.

Conclusion

UNILIF method is a safe and effective surgical strategy. It provides a durable improvement in functional score over 7 years of follow-up with a stable radiological correction over time.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mobbs RJ, Sivabalan P, Li J (2012) Minimally invasive surgery compared to open spinal fusion for the treatment of degenerative lumbar spine pathologies. J Clin Neurosci Off J Neurosurg Soc Australas 19(6):829–835

    Google Scholar 

  2. Rouben D, Casnellie M, Ferguson M (2011) Long-term durability of minimal invasive posterior transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a clinical and radiographic follow-up. J Spinal Disord Tech 24(5):288–296

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Harris BM, Hilibrand AS, Savas PE, Pellegrino A, Vaccaro AR, Siegler S et al (2004) Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: the effect of various instrumentation techniques on the flexibility of the lumbar spine. Spine 29(4):E65-70

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Slucky AV, Brodke DS, Bachus KN, Droge JA, Braun JT (2006) Less invasive posterior fixation method following transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a biomechanical analysis. Spine J Off J North Am Spine Soc 6(1):78–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Xiao SW, Jiang H, Yang LJ, Xiao ZM (2015) Comparison of unilateral versus bilateral pedicle screw fixation with cage fusion in degenerative lumbar diseases: a meta-analysis. Eur Spine J 24(4):764–774

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Lu P, Pan T, Dai T, Chen G, Qin SK (2018) Is unilateral pedicle screw fixation superior than bilateral pedicle screw fixation for lumbar degenerative diseases: a meta-analysis. J Orthop Surg 13(1):296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ren C, Qin R, Sun P, Wang P (2017) Effectiveness and safety of unilateral pedicle screw fixation in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF): a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 137(4):441–450

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Giorgi H, Prebet R, Andriantsimiavona R, Tropiano P, Blondel B, Parent HF (2018) Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with unilateral pedicle screw fixation (UNILIF): morbidity, clinical and radiological 2-year outcomes of a 66-patient prospective series. Eur Spine J 27(8):1933–1939

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Ee WWG, Lau WLJ, Yeo W, Von Bing Y, Yue WM (2014) Does minimally invasive surgery have a lower risk of surgical site infections compared with open spinal surgery? Clin Orthop 472(6):1718–1724

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Ould-Slimane M, Cantogrel P, Lefèvre E, Parent HF, Gauthé R (2020) Minimally invasive unilateral lumbar interbody fusion (UNILIF) in over-80-year-olds. Continuous series of 42 patients at 1.4 years’ follow-up. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res 106(2):275–279

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Shen X, Wang L, Zhang H, Gu X, Gu G, He S (2016) Radiographic analysis of one-level minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MI-TLIF) with unilateral pedicle screw fixation for lumbar degenerative diseases. Clin Spine Surg Spine Publ 29(1):E1-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Xue H, Tu Y, Cai M (2012) Comparison of unilateral versus bilateral instrumented transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in degenerative lumbar diseases. Spine J 12(3):209–215

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Kim YJ, Bridwell KH, Lenke LG, Rinella AS, Edwards C (2005) Pseudarthrosis in primary fusions for adult idiopathic scoliosis: incidence, risk factors, and outcome analysis. Spine 30(4):468–474

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Yang S, Xia H, Cong M, Guo A, Ma K, Song M (2022) Unilateral pedicle screw fixation of lumber spine: a safe internal fixation method. Heliyon 8(11):e11621

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Cheng X, Zhang K, Sun X, Tian H, Zhao C, Zhao J (2022) Unilateral versus bilateral pedicle screw fixation with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for treatment of lumbar foraminal stenosis. Spine J 22(10):1687–1693

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Redaelli A, Panico M, Cecchinato R, Damilano M, Vanni D, Ponzo M et al (2022) Oblique, unilateral, or bilateral rods configurations for single-level interbody fusion and posterior spinal fixation: a finite element study. Turk Neurosurg. https://doi.org/10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.42502-22.2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Fukushima M, Oshima Y, Yuzawa Y, Tanaka S, Inanami H (2020) Clinical and radiographic analysis of unilateral versus bilateral instrumented one-level lateral lumbar interbody fusion. Sci Rep 10(1):3105

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Jia J, Chen C, Wang P, Wang L, Liu X (2023) Comparison of adjacent segment degeneration after minimally invasive or open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a minimum 5-year follow-up. Clin Spine Surg 36(1):E45-50

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Heemskerk JL, Oluwadara Akinduro O, Clifton W, Quiñones-Hinojosa A, Abode-Iyamah KO (2021) Long-term clinical outcome of minimally invasive versus open single-level transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for degenerative lumbar diseases: a meta-analysis. Spine J 21(12):2049–2065

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Roh YH, Lee JC, Hwang J, Cho HK, Soh J, Choi SW et al (2022) Long-term clinical and radiological outcomes of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: 10-year follow-up results. J Korean Med Sci 37(13):e105

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Spine Center, Saint-Leonard Private Clinic, 18 Rue de Bellinière, 49800, Trélazé, France

    Quentin Hamel, Rémi Prebet, Olivier Lucas, Ghassan Hayek, Henry-François Parent & Audrey Angelliaume

Authors
  1. Quentin Hamel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rémi Prebet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Olivier Lucas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ghassan Hayek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Henry-François Parent
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Audrey Angelliaume
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Audrey Angelliaume.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hamel, Q., Prebet, R., Lucas, O. et al. Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with unilateral pedicle screw fixation (UNILF): outcomes at 7 years. Eur Spine J 33, 356–360 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-023-07946-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-023-07946-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation