A Radiographic Analysis of the use of Banana-Shaped Articulating Interbody Spacers in Lumbar Spine Fusion: Retrospective Design

Abstract Introduction The minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF) procedure gains access to the disc space while avoiding major structures such as the great vessels anteriorly, spinal cord posteriorly, and lumbosacral plexus bilaterally. MIS TLIF procedures may be limited in capacity for the implanting of large interbody spacers due to the relatively small access window of Kambin’s triangle. The current study examines patients treated with an articulating expandable interbody spacer designed to address the limitations of the MIS TLIF procedure. Methods This study is a retrospective chart review of clinical and radiographic data from 46 patients at a single site. Radiographs were measured to determine preoperative and postoperative disc height, neuroforaminal height, intervertebral angle and lumbar lordosis. Results Anterior disc height increased significantly from 10.0±3.4 mm at preoperative to 14.1±2.3 mm at 3-month follow-up. Posterior disc height increased significantly (p Conclusions The results of the current study support the use of articulating expandable interbody spacers through an MIS TLIF approach for lordosis correction. The anteriorly placed interbody spacer allowed for increased lordosis within the segment and through the lumbar region of the spine. Further prospective studies are needed to better establish the benefits of this interbody design.