J Neurosurg Spine Volume 23 • December 2015 739
CLINICAL ARTICLE
J Neurosurg Spine 23:739–746, 2015
A
DULT spinal deformity has become a major health
issue, with the demographic shift involving an
aging population. In people older than 50 years,
the prevalence of scoliosis, defined as a spinal deformity
with a Cobb angle greater than 10°, is about 6%.
1
It usu-
ally ends in some form of uni- or multisegmental sagit-
tal and/or frontal instability (spondylolisthesis, but also
translational dislocations in the frontal plane or rotational
dislocations).
1
Translatory shift, lateral and rotatory sub-
luxation, lateral spondylolisthesis, lateral subluxation,
lateral translation, lateral slip, lateral olisthy, and rota-
tory olisthesis are synonymous terms, all referring to the
same lesion
30
that we will call dislocation in this study.
Some previous studies have focused on the correlation
between lateral spondylolisthesis and curve progression
and pain.
19,26,27,30
The treatment of adult degenerative scoliosis (ADS) re-
mains a challenging problem. Surgical management may
be indicated in case of failure of nonsurgical management.
It includes, more often, a posterior fusion with pedicle
ABBREVIATIONS ADS = adult degenerative scoliosis; ALD = adjacent-level degeneration; ALIF = anterior lumbar interbody fusion; AP = anteroposterior; EBL = estimated
blood loss; LL = lumbar lordosis; ODI = Oswestry Disability Index; PI = pelvic incidence; SFD = sacrofemoral distance; SSA = spinosacral angle; SVA = sagittal vertical axis;
VAS = visual analog scale.
SUBMITTED August 11, 2014. ACCEPTED March 10, 2015.
INCLUDE WHEN CITING Published online August 28, 2015; DOI: 10.3171/2015.3.SPINE14772.
Minimally invasive anterior lumbar interbody fusion for
adult degenerative scoliosis with 1 or 2 dislocated levels
Charles-Henri Flouzat-Lachaniette, MD, Louis Ratte, MD, Alexandre Poignard, MD, PhD,
Jean-Charles Auregan, MD, Steffen Queinnec, MD, Philippe Hernigou, MD, and Jérôme Allain, MD
Hôpital Henri Mondor (AP-HP-UPEC), Institut du Rachis, Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologique, Créteil, France
OBJECT Frequent complications of posterolateral instrumented fusion have been reported after treatment of degenera-
tive scoliosis in elderly patients. Considering that in some cases, most of the symptomatology of adult degenerative sco-
liosis (ADS) is a consequence of the segmental instability at the dislocated level, the use of minimally invasive anterior
lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) to manage symptoms can be advocated to reduce surgical morbidity. The purpose of this
study was to evaluate the midterm outcomes of 1- or 2-level minimally invasive ALIFs in ADS patients with 1- or 2-level
dislocations.
METHODS A total of 47 patients (average age 64 years; range 43–80 years) with 1- or 2-level ALIF performed for ADS
(64 levels) in a single institution were included in the study. An independent spine surgeon retrospectively reviewed all
the patients’ medical records and radiographs to assess operative data and surgery-related complications. Clinical out-
come was reported using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the visual analog scale (VAS) for lumbar and leg pain.
Intraoperative data and complications were collected. Fusion and risk for adjacent-level degeneration were assessed.
RESULTS The mean follow-up duration was 3 years (range 1–10 years). ODI, and back and leg pain VAS scores were
significantly improved at last follow-up. A majority of patients (74%) had a statistically significant improvement in their ODI
score of more than 20 points at latest follow-up and 1 had a worsening of his disability. The mean operating time was
166 minutes (range 70–355 minutes). The mean estimated blood loss was 410 ml (range 50–1700 ml). Six (5 major and 1
minor) surgical complications (12.7% of patients) and 13 (2 major and 11 minor) medical complications (27.7% of patients)
occurred without death or wound infection. Fusion was achieved in 46 of 47 patients. Surgery resulted in a slight but
significant decrease of the Cobb angle, and improved the pelvic parameters and lumbar lordosis, but had no effect on the
global sagittal balance. At latest follow-up, 9 patients (19.1%) developed adjacent-segment disease at a mean of 2 years’
delay from the index surgery; 4 were symptomatic but treated medically, and none required iterative surgery.
CONCLUSIONS Single- or 2-level minimally invasive fusion through a minimally invasive anterior approach in some
selected cases of ADS produced a good functional outcome with a high fusion rate. They were associated with a signifi-
cantly lower rate of complications in this study than the historical control.
http://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2015.3.SPINE14772
KEY WORDS degenerative scoliosis; dislocation; minimally invasive anterior lumbar interbody fusion; aging spine;
surgery outcomes; morbidity
©AANS, 2015
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