New automatic retraction device assisted unilateral TLIF surgery effectively treats single-level lumbar degenerative diseases

Yapeng Sun et al conducted a study to evaluate the clinical efficacy of unilateral wiltse transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) combined with unilateral nail bar system fixation for single-level lumbar degenerative diseases with the assistance of a new automatic retraction device in a retrospective comparative study.

A total of 46 patients with single-level lumbar degenerative diseases from were retrospectively analyzed. Bilateral nail bar fixation with bullet-type fusion cage (control group, 24 patients) and unilateral nail bar fixation on the affected side with kidney-like fusion cage (study group, 22 patients) were performed in TLIF via wiltse intermuscular approach assisted by a new automatic retraction device. The differences in intraoperative blood loss, operative time, intraoperative fluoroscopy time, postoperative drainage, bed rest, VAS score, ODI score, JOA score, serological creatine kinase (CK), the proportion of multifidus atrophy, modified Pfirrmann classification and intervertebral space height of the upper intervertebral disc were compared between the two groups based on clinical and imaging data.

Key findings of the study were:

• Intraoperative bleeding, operative time, and postoperative drainage were significantly lower in study group than control group, and there were no significant differences in bed rest time and intraoperative fluoroscopy time between them.

• There was no statistical difference in Creatine kinase between the study group and the control group at 24 and 48 h postoperatively.