Awake, Endoscopic Revision Surgery for Lumbar Pseudarthrosis after TLIF: Technical Note

Objective We sought to evaluate the feasibility for awake, endoscopic treatment of lumbar pseudarthrosis after a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Methods A 71-year-old male with severe cardiac disease, determined to be high risk for general anesthesia, presented with mechanical back pain and a L3-4 pseudarthrosis and L3 pedicle screw loosening after a L3-5 TLIF. An awake, transforaminal endoscopic redo diskectomy and TLIF procedure were performed by removing residual disk material adjacent to the previous “PEEK” (polyetheretherketone) interbody spacer and placing allograft, bone morphogenetic protein, and an expandable titanium interbody device adjacent to the PEEK cage. Results At 1-year follow-up, preoperative visual analog scale for back pain and Oswestry disability index improved from 7 and 38% to 1 and 2%. The 1-year follow-up radiograph showed stable interbody placement and no further screw loosening. Conclusions A minimally invasive, awake procedure is presented for the treatment of pseudarthrosis after TLIF.