Objective
We conducted a study to determine the availability of ALIF in selected patients who presented with recurrent lumbar disc herniation.
Methods
A total of 22 patients who underwent ALIF between 2001 and 2002 have been followed up for more than 12 months. The subjects were 11 men and 11 women, with a mean age of 46 years, ranging from 23 to 60. The mean follow-up duration was 18 months(range 12 to 28 months). The fused level at which the ALIF was performed was as follows: L3-4(1 patient), L4-5(14 patients), and L5-S1(7 patients). The Oswestry Disability Index(ODI) was used to evaluate the postoperative clinical outcome and Patient Satisfaction Index(PSI) was also assessed.
Results
The mean preoperative ODI was 64.9±13.1%. At postsurgery one month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month, the mean ODI decreased to 11.6±7.4%, 9.5±6.1%, 7.8±5.4%, and 7.5±4.9%, respectively, and the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test could find a statistically significant difference(p<0.001). Twenty of 22 patients(90%) were satisfied with their clinical results. There were no complications and blood loss was minimal.
Conclusion
The authors found ALIF to be an effective procedure with satisfactory clinical results in selected patients with a recurrent disc herniation in the lumbar spine. It seems that ALIF can be an alternative in the treatment of recurrent lumbar disc herniation.
