Minimally invasive approach to the lumbosacral junction with a single position, 360° fusion

• Published in: Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) 2019-06, Vol.5 (S1), p.S68-S73
• Main Authors: Baum, Griffin R., Lin, James D., Morr, Simon, Osorio, Joseph A., Leung, Eric, Schutzer, Richard W., Lehman Jr, Ronald A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Review
• ISSN: 2414-469X; 2414-4630
• DOI: 10.21037/jss.2019.04.09

Degenerative lumbar pathologies are commonly encountered at the lumbosacral junction. The transition from the mobile lumbar spine to the stiff sacroiliac segment results in high biomechanical stresses and can lead to disc degeneration, ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, neural foraminal stenosis, and other causes of pain or neurologic deficit. Surgical intervention at the lumbosacral junction must be tailored to maximize pain relief and relieve neural compression and reverse neurologic deficit while preserving the spine’s natural biomechanical strength and flexibility and preventing the slow march of adjacent segment degeneration cranially into the thoracolumbar spine. It is our practice to offer combined anterior and posterior minimally invasive options when appropriate to maximize neural decompression and pain relief while ensuring proper segmental alignment and maximizing fusion rates through a minimally disruptive approach. In this article we detail a common presentation of lumbosacral pathology and the approach and considerations for a single position, minimally invasive anterior and posterior approach at the L5/S1 segment.